


Little Shop of Horny

by ceilingfan5, HoneyCorvid



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sex Shop, Anal Sex, BDSM, Bath Sex, Consentacles, Dating, Declarations Of Love, Falling In Love, Fluff, Japanese Rope Bondage, Kink Negotiation, Light BDSM, Lingerie, Love Confessions, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Praise Kink, Rope Bondage, Semi-Public Sex, Sex Shop, Sex Toys, Sharing a Bed, Shibari, Slime, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, This is gonna get wild, Vaginal Fingering, Weird Biology, Xenobiology, experimenting with magic sex toys, exploring kink, fantasy nailed it, inexperienced kravitz, keys, kink list, long chapters, more tags as we go, moving in (sort of), slime dragon sex, taako runs a sexy monster store, taako's got both, thigh highs, would you believe there was not an established slime dragon sex tag?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:13:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 79,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceilingfan5/pseuds/ceilingfan5, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyCorvid/pseuds/HoneyCorvid
Summary: There are rumors of a little shop that only shows itself to those who want to visit, hidden tucked away between skyscrapers. Its name changes, potentially more often than it should, but the gist is always the same; monsters for sale, good for housework or cooking or...personal needs, fair prices and unbeatable variety.Kravitz had no intention of visiting the tentacle store. It found him, and it's about to change his life in more ways than one.Taako just so happens to need a products tester, which has absolutely nothing to do with wanting this cute guy to keep coming back and exploring his desires to their fullest possible extent.





	1. Trial One--The Basic Erotic Tentacle

**Author's Note:**

> You know the tentacle porn that you wish all the tentacle porn you've seen would have been? We're fans of what that genre could be, and we thought that we'd share how we've been playing with those ideas with two of our favorite boys. 
> 
> This comes from an rp and will have additional parts, but there are 11 complete chapters in this fic that will be published as they are edited.

There are rumors of a little shop that only shows itself to those who want to visit, hidden tucked away between skyscrapers. Its name changes, potentially more often than it should, but the gist is always the same; monsters for sale, good for housework or cooking or... _personal needs_ , fair prices and unbeatable variety.

Not that that's particularly hard, even specialty shops usually don't stock _tentacle creatures_ , and when they do, they're usually all provided by the same craftsman; the same craftsman, in fact, who runs the shop itself. Most days, like today, he can be found behind the counter, feet propped up as he fiddles with something malleable and somewhat _goopy_ between graceful hands.

Kravitz had no intention of visiting the tentacle store. No conscious intention, at least. He was simply exploring the city after a very long week at work, getting very lost on the way. A bit of misdirection on a decent Saturday afternoon wouldn't be so bad if his phone would stop roaming and help him reorient himself among the steel and glass blocking out the sun, but either due to lack of service or a local magic hotspot, he couldn't get the damn thing to work.

So he did it the old fashioned way, and decided to ask for directions. He never could have guessed how far away from his normal path this would take him. He especially wouldn't guess just how much he needed it.

Taako glances up when the bell on the door chimed. It had been a slow day, so he could afford to really pay attention to this latest customer, who... he didn't recognize, for once. He looked lost and nervous, but then, so did most first-timers at the ol' tentacle emporium, or whatever it was he'd put on the door the previous morning.

He swings his feet off the counter, calling out a cheery, "Welcome to the monster shop, my fella! It's your first time here, right? 'Cause I just _know_ I'd remember a face that handsome."

Monster shop? Handsome? This...admittedly elegant person has to be kidding, right? Kravitz looks around the shop, suddenly more claustrophobic than he had been outside, among the sun-suffocating towers.

And oh. He isn't kidding. About the monsters, anyway. Because crammed in every spare breath of the shop is a new creature Kravitz has never seen before, of what he can only assume are a variety of purposes with a variety of intentions, good and otherwise. He sees one knitting on a high shelf, and another makes an unparseable gesture at him. Heat crawls up his face.

"I- hello- I'm sorry, I was just- I'm lost, is the thing? And my phone won't connect to the network?" Kravitz gestures awkwardly with his phone to illustrate the point. "Do you know, um. How I can get back to the main street? Sir?"

Taako bites his cheek to keep from laughing. Oh, one of _those_ first-timers, his very favorite kind, the ones that show up sometimes from a glitch in his find-me spell; it's supposed to hide the shop from everyone who's not looking for it, but sometimes people who just inwardly want its products show up, confused and so much less choosy.

The guy's eyes are wide, and Taako can see his face flush as he looks around the shop. He grins and stretches, arms raised languidly above his head.

" _Well_ ," he says, "I'm afraid I can't help you too much in that department, 'cause my lovely little establishment doesn't exactly exist in one fixed spot, but I can prob'ly convince the doors to drop you off closer to home than where you came in! Take a sec, though-look around!" Taako gives him his most winning smile, eyes sparkling. "I'm sure I've got something you'd like, if you've got time."

"Damn..." So it is magic, Kravitz thinks. Very magic. A whole fucking lot of magic, right in the middle of normalville city. Don't get him wrong, he's dabbled in magic before. He actually did pretty well in his stint in bard college, but his future held other priorities.

Except the funny thing about magic is it can always, always find you if it wants you. And judging by the look in the shop-owner's eye, well...

Kravitz clears his throat and tries to lose himself amongst the stacks instead. He had been out today on a mission of self-indulgence after his shitty week, but he was sort of intending to get himself a nice outfit, or some really dark chocolate or something. Not. Whatever use a person might have for these little creatures. Kravitz's imagination has a few ideas, but he shoves that down. Surely this is an upstanding business, for normal household purposes, and he can withhold his less public desires until he gets home.

Taako tries not to bust out laughing, and mostly succeeds, muffling his snickers into his fist. The store is empty except for Cute Dude over there, so he doesn't feel too bad about leaving a lil' eyestalk fella that had come out too small for sale by the register and ambling over to where his customer is staring at a row of simple little monsters that function mostly as restraints.

"I wouldn't go for those without somebody else to help you out, my guy," he says, leaning against a suspiciously squishy and out-of-place support beam he's pretty sure is the mimic he lost yesterday when it started feuding with another one. "The ones two aisles down are better for beginners."

Kravitz can't help but jump, and giving the shop owner a closer look doesn't do anything to settle his nerves. He's gorgeous and, moreover, is surrounded by his own tentacles and Hold It Together Kravitz.

"What- Sorry- Beginners at what, exactly?"

Taako raises an eyebrow, tail swishing amusedly behind him. "Take a guess, handsome," he purrs. "Whatever you're blushing about, probably."

Kravitz tries to clear his throat and nearly chokes. There are no good places to put his eyes. Every tentacle seems to be waving or undulating at him with legitimate intent. One even reaches for his wrist as he backs against the shelf.

"You mean- these are for- they're intended for-?"

Taako bites his fist, shoulders shaking, allowing himself a couple seconds of laughter before he straightens and clicks his tongue to tell the tendrils reaching for his guest _no, no touching right now._ He doesn't want to freak him out too much.

"Sex? Sure, yeah, a lot of 'em," he says, waving a hand. "The ones you were looking at mostly serve as restraints, for folks who like the feeling. This guy-" he gestures to the mimic, which has started playing with his hair, "-is a mimic, which is good for people who want to be subtle but also want a big, overpowering monster to ravish 'em, and so on. I have some that do other stuff too, though."

Kravitz flushes so hard he imagines himself whistling like a tea kettle. Sex. They're for sex. He's in a sex shop. Not just a sex shop, but a monster sex shop.

And the worst part is he's sorely, sorely tempted.

He's........thought about it before. Not a lot, but...here and there. There just never was anything to fulfill that particular...curiosity. All of the relevant pornography he found made him uncomfortable, and sex toys were so expensive. And. Well. Lifeless. He just sort of accepted it wasn't possible.

But here he is.

"Show me," he says, breathless, before he gets too self conscious and self destructs his way back onto the street. He needs to know.

The grin that spreads over Taako's face at Kravitz's words is different from his other smiles, slow and thrilled and _burning_ , yellow eyes glittering in the warm, low light of the store.

"This way," Taako says, gesturing for him to follow before twirling (he's suddenly very pleased he wore a floaty skirt today) and walking to the back of the shop, where his best-behaved example creatures live, nested in soft, colorful fabrics. They're all curled up together right now, dormant, because of how slow a day it's been, but he nudges one awake - a simple, affectionate thing, more toy than creature, just smart enough to learn basic directions and the sounds of pain from pleasure - as he reaches it.

Kravitz follows, close but not too close, heart pounding. The shop owner is so beautiful, and so tolerant of his stupidity. Another swell of warmth hits his cheeks. They haven't even exchanged names.

"I'm Kravitz," he says, barely keeping the stammer at bay. The soft colors make him relax a little, knowing that this is a safer place to be for the uninitiated. The rest he can try later, but... Later? Is he really planning to come here again? Will he even be able to find it?

...Is this place expensive? Surreptitiously, he begins scanning for a price tag. Taako’s products aren't cheap, but their prices are decent. A hand-written and decorated sign from where Taako found it indicate that it goes for about a $115, and he throws in a medium-small but good quality plastic terrarium to keep it in, too.

"Taako," he replies, endeared. A lot of customers don't like anyone knowing they were here, so getting names is usually like pulling teeth. "Here, hold out your hand. It won't do anything untoward, not unless you ask it to, but this is my cheapest and most popular model. If you freak out and want it to let go, just say _red_ , they all know the red-yellow-green system before I let them interact with customers."

Kravitz nods and slowly reaches out his hand, distracted from his bargain hunt by the friendly way it reaches right back for him.

"What do they eat? Are they delicate?"

He gives it a little tickle, a smile coming through.

Oh, _precious_. The creature perks up at the attention, winding several thin tendrils around his fingers happily.

"They absorb nutrients from liquid," Taako says, smiling. "I made them so that _theoretically_ , if you used them daily, they could survive off of your body fluids, but I always recommend keepin' some juice or broth in their terrarium for 'em. And no, they're not delicate-they can take what you can give them, for sure. They do have, uh, basically an auto-stop though if they get bitten for consent purposes. That's the closest they come to being damaged, really. I mean, don't put them in a paper shredder or anything, but."

"Oh." All of Kravitz's blood is in his face area. Most of it, anyway. "That's. Handy."

Every day. He can't imagine...

Well, maybe he can. He strokes the creature softly, liking the way it reacts to him. Kind of cute.

"Do you just- what- sorry... what do you-"

Point and shoot? Set it and forget it?

"Hm?" Taako smiles, raising his eyebrows. "What was that? Didn't quite catch your question, Kravitz."

"Do you. How." Kravitz's mouth is so dry. "How. How do you use it."

" _Ooooooh_ ," Taako crows, as if he'd actually been confused. "Well! That's a multi-faceted answer. With most of them, physically interacting with it is enough for it to get the idea. If you give it a nudge towards where you want it, it'll take it from there. This particular one knows not to do that right off the bat 'cause it's a tester. They'll back off if you come unless you say green again right after, and then there's a dormant period where you can put them away before they'll get grabby again."

He pauses. "Do you want to try that one out? You're my only customer right now, so the fitting room's all yours."

"I- I- I- I-" Kravitz wheezes. A public fitting room?? Where Taako would almost certainly hear him?? "I couldn't, I-"

Then again, that's a lot of money to drop on something he doesn't particularly like.

"I- Maybe-"

Hook, line. Taako's grin doesn't waver as he replies. "It's got a muffle charm on it, of course, and I promise this little guy is completely safe. We greatly value our customers' privacy and comfort here, after all--so, what'll it be?"

Oh. Oh, then. Oh. Alright. Sure.

"If that's. Alright with you. And it's clean."

Concerns: managed.  
Dick: hard.

Taako pats his shoulder. "It's why the fitting room's there, my guy. Just pick the lil' thing up and take it with you, I'll show you where to go."

Kravitz nods repeatedly, unable to stop himself. He feels like a fool. He doesn't know why he's still here. He picks it up and watches it curl around his fingers.

"Lead the way," he says, like a total ass.

_Oh, he's_ so _cute_ , Taako thinks. He hopes Kravitz isn't too scared of this whole situation, but _god_ the deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes is precious. Taako wants to kiss the confusion out of him, but that would be Unprofessional, so instead he just guides him to the reddish wooden door marked _Fitting!_ with a smile.

Kravitz opens the door and breathes. People must do this. People must do this here, sometimes. And it probably gets cleaned. If the guy can do muffling charm that easy, he can probably clean.

He looks at Taako. He looks at the tentacle.

Taako tilts his head to the side, gesturing to the room. It's small but comfortable, with a bed taking up about half the space. The sheets seem to be made of plastic or vinyl-something easy to clean. There's also a small shelf with several rolled-up towels across from what seems to be a very basic shower. Next to the shower is a chain and a laminated piece of paper with what seem to be instructions written on it.

"Have a good time! If you need me, pull the chain by the door," Taako says, grinning. The tentacle says nothing, but does seem to be exploring Kravitz' shirt curiously.

"Right, good time." Kravitz's leg jiggles up and down in anticipation. He surveys his options. A shower... Maybe there are messy ones? A strange feeling thrums in his heart.

"Thanks?" He's doing this. He's really doing this.

"You're welcome! Take your time, darlin,'" Taako chirps. He winks at Kravitz, then vanishes again, off to do lord knows what.

The bundle of tentacles in Kravitz' arms squirms happily, trying to get at the skin of his chest.

Kravitz shuts the door. He sits on the bed. He comes to terms with the place he's at right now, physically and emotionally. Sure. Sure he's in a tentacle sex shop, trying out a tentacle for sex, before almost certainly purchasing a tentacle for sex, because that's apparently the kind of person he is.

After the pressure of his straight-laced Important Job...can't he afford to let loose a little?

He holds the tentacle up to see it better.

"...Hey there," he says, not sure what he's going to get out of talking to it.

It stretches out one long, thin tendril, holding still for a tentative moment before bopping him lightly on the nose. Another winds around his neck loosely, warm and smooth and just slightly slick.

Kravitz gets even sweatier. Maybe he shouldn't read too much into this, but he almost feels like it can see right through him.

He checks again that the door is closed and locked. And then he starts to strip.

The creature loops itself around his neck while he divests himself of his shirt, then sends a couple tendrils trailing down his chest in exploration. It's gentle, curious, friendly; most of its mass is a comfortable weight on his shoulder, and the tentacles that explore his body as he reveals it are soft but practiced.

It's sort of cute. Almost...Sweet. Kravitz smiles as he gets his pants off, inch by inch allowing himself this realized fantasy. This is nothing like the things he's read, and honestly, he didn't have much in mind the few times he allowed himself to imagine...something like this. Suddenly he wonders if he ought to have gotten some lube. Realized fantasies require practical solutions, don't they?

Maybe that Taako fellow knew he would get stuck here. Holding the tentacle so it doesn’t fall off of him and kicking off his boxers, Kravitz gets up and inspects the sign to see if the instructions are relevant.

The paper reads,

'INSTRUCTIONS/GUIDELINES:  
Depending on the product you're trying, the guidelines will be different, but there are some basic things that all of them share. For more specific questions, ask Taako. If you have concerns and they aren't that something is broken, try shouting it into the void instead of bothering me about it.

1) Just Let It Do Its Thing  
2) If you need to stop, say 'red.' If you want to slow down or have your creature move away from what it's doing, say 'yellow.' If everything is gucci but it's stopped or waiting, say 'green.'  
3) Don't worry, they get goopy on their own. If you don't trust that, though, there's lube in the cabinet next to the shower, under the towel rack. You can also put your clothes in there if you don't want them getting dirty.  
4) Take your monster to the shower with you after you use it-they like the feeling of running water, and testers need to be clean. Also, _use the shower_. Do you really want to put your clothes back on when you're covered in slime residue?  
5) If you steal my towels I will charge you for them. If you pay in cash but also steal my towels, I'll hex all of your shoes to turn into rice pudding.

Thanks and have a nice time,  
Taako'

Kravitz laughs to himself at the tone change there at the end, feeling a little bit more confident about what he's doing here. It's clean, it's safe, it's orderly. And this Taako person...he's funny. Rice pudding may not be an empty threat, but it's a very good one. He can feel the power in a place like this, and for all the casual aura Taako puts out, Kravitz can tell he's very talented.

He folds his clothes and carefully stows them away, then. Well. Back to the matter at hand. He strokes it a little, curious if he should get the lube out. He's sorely tempted to trust in the magic and let it do what it does, but he's also tempted not to be sore.

The creature loops around his wrist as he strokes it, twining more tentacles than it seemed to have had a moment prior around his arm and chest. A couple of them break off from the central mass as he watches, catching the light wetly and leaving a slightly oily trail down his belly. It pauses there, seemingly waiting for something.

Kravitz bites his lip, hesitating...for some reason. Like a person might hesitate before finishing a final book in their favorite series, or eating a cake they were saving. Like...he's afraid he'll enjoy it, and then it'll be over.

But that's foolish. He can buy one if he likes it, and if he hates it, he can fuck off and never come back. He can have this. He's allowed to enjoy himself.

Right.

"Green," he says, carefully sinking onto the bed. Already he's hard and wanting, and the visuals are leaving little to be desired.

The tentacles surge back into motion as he speaks, the two that were particularly slick diving lower than the rest; most of them stick to his abdomen, seeking out sensitive spots on his chest and sides. One winds around his cock, moving in a twisting corkscrew motion up and down slowly at first. It’s thin enough that it would be easy to grip himself around it, if he wanted to set the pace; it's warm and slick enough, though, to be its own experience even if he didn't.

The first noise Kravitz makes is surprise, and the rest is all satisfaction. He's shy at first, biting down on his hand, but he recalls the muffling charm on the room...at least...that Taako said there was a muffling charm on the room, and...slowly...lets up. He can make a little noise, can't he? Is that so bad?

His instant reaction is to touch the one around his cock, half out of curiosity and half out of the pure sensation of it. He's careful not to squeeze it, still unsure of the boundaries, but the feeling is...more than he ever could have imagined. He flushes with heat just to feel it, to really feel it warm and slick and going, and his imagination runs with it, springing right to the thought of one inside him because really, what else are tentacles for? The part of him that Kravitz usually shoves down loves that idea, revels in it and builds on it. Inside him, twisting and teasing and slick and surprisingly strong. In his mouth...tying him back...pulling his knees apart...

That. Will have to wait.

It's not as if he has a partner to do such things with, let alone would know how to find somebody that wouldn't turn and run the other direction at the concept. With some level of dramatic irony, as he slowly strokes the tentacle around him, he recalls a couple on the subway whispering about how kinky things were going to get in their Formerly Vanilla bedroom now that they had One Plain Dildo. He can't help but laugh, a weird, giddy, born-out-of-stress laugh that he can't control. This is not where he expected his day to go. Honestly? He's relieved.

The tentacles take his hand around his cock as encouragement, corkscrew motions growing faster, another, pinky-thin tendril making its way farther down to press against his entrance and pausing only for a moment before pressing into him. It's hot and slick and seems to pulsate, almost, thrumming in time with his quickened pulse.

That almost sends him over the edge already. It's so new and...also perfect? Like something finally clicked. He's getting too introspective about these sex toys, magical though they be. It's amazing, is what it is. It takes his breath away--he makes the most embarrassing noise, and he doesn't even care. He grips at the one around his dick for...something to hold onto. He can't stand much more, but that's all he wants.

"Yes- fuck- more-"

The tentacles twist, tightening around his dick and curling against his prostate at the same time, eager to pull every shaky motion from him while they can. One errant tendril wraps around his wrist, holding the hand he's got wrapped around himself where it is in encouragement.

Kravitz wheezes, trying to hold himself off. This level of sensation is....unprecedented. And it's _perfect_. If Kravitz were in a movie, he'd probably see the air turn pink and hearts float around his head and hear a jazzy slow jam or cheesy romance song start playing, something on the theme of _where have you been all my life._ It's a cupid's arrow straight to his dick. God rest his fucking wallet.

With that satisfied resignation in mind, he comes, even surprising himself, and he lays back flat on the bed and finds a moment of bliss in living his truth. This is it.

The monster wiggles happily, gingerly releasing him before flopping down against his abdomen like some kind of eldritch blanket. It's not hard to notice that where he would usually be splattered with cum there's nothing, just a vaguely sticky feeling where the tendrils touched him.

The tentacle creature, for its part, seems content to snooze; it's done its job, and now seems mostly interested in going dormant for a while to _absorb nutrients_ or whatever it was Taako said they do.

Kravitz would sell his soul to curl up and take a little nap here with his new friend, but the afterglow wears thin and reveals his old friend anxiety, who wakes up and screams at him that the only thing worse than masturbating in a store is sleeping there afterward.

So he gets up, and he picks up the tentacles, fumbling and nearly dropping them in his boneless state, and he scoots over to the shower to take care of what's left of the mess.

The tentacles are hardly helpful, but they’re not much of a hindrance either, happy to just bask in the spray as he gets clean. They're cute. They're tentacles, magic faux-beast sex toys, and all Kravitz can think is they're cute. It's better than situational awareness, but by the time his shower is over and he's toweling off carefully (and returning the towel via the bright purple hamper, for fear of rice pudding), he's a little embarrassed about how fired up he got over all this.

Not embarrassed enough to not count the twenties in his wallet.

(He has enough emergency cash for a little bit of...self indulgence.)

Kravits puts his clothes on and takes a deep breath, hoping this Taako person and his magic are trustworthy, and he leaves the hopefully muffled "fitting room".

Taako is back at the counter when Kravitz emerges, his feet propped up and something opalescent and amorphous in his lap. He looks up at the sound of the door opening with a smile.

“Hey there, did you have fun?”

Kravitz can't help but blush all the way to his bones. Not knowing what to reply, he just hands the pile of tentacles over the counter and follows it with a wad of bills.

"I've, um. Made my decision. So. Yeah."

Taako bites his cheek to keep from laughing. It’s a noble effort, but he fails—this guy is so cute, and the flush in his face says he’ll probably be back.

“Okay,” he laughs, flicking through the money to figure out how much he’s gonna need to grab in change. “Well, this one’s a tester, so how about I give you your change and then we can go see which of the lil’ dudes of the same model jumps out at you, yeah? They come in several colors.” The tester is a soft, generally inoffensive, velvety black, but since it’s his most popular model he’s got versions in everything from blue to eye-searing 80’s abstract print.

Kravitz only gets more embarrassed, but he follows Taako to the display. They're amazing... Some of them eye-melting, but simply amazing.

"You must be a very skilled wizard," he mutters, not technically intending for Taako to hear. But it's true. He knows enough about magic to know this is an incredible and indulgent display making light of intense talents. He drags his fingers across the display shelf, past Lisa Frankian electric greens and pinks to linger at a translucent black swirled with glitter. Is that too much? Is it too... He doesn't even know what adjective he's afraid of being, but he's sure there is one.

But it's gorgeous. Is it even okay to drool over a sex toy?

Taako’s ear twitches, and he smiles. “I’m pretty much the best at what I do, yeah,” he says. It’s a niche industry, but he’s got anyone else who’s ever tried beat. He eats up Kravitz’ amazement, though, basking in the praise the same way his creation basked in the shower water.

The creature Kravitz looking at pokes a tendril up over the edge of its terrarium, winding around his finger curiously.

"Oh-!" It startles Kravitz, but it also feels like a sign. And it's easier to look at the tentacle than the cute smile on Taako's face. "I, I think I'll take this one. It's kind of pretty."

“Sure thing, doll, let me just grab you an individual terrarium, that one’s got like eight lil’ goth dudes in it-“ Taako reaches over him to help lift the little creature out, and chirps to it to remind it not to fuck _now_ , just be chill till it’s in its new home. He drops it into Kravitz’ arms and reaches out his senses, spreading himself through the various tendrils he controls around the shop to grab a terrarium he thinks Kravitz will like.

He goes with the one that has a little skull hidey-hole. It seems to suit his aesthetic. A tendril deposits it in his hands and he grins, holding it up and giving it a little wiggle, as if to say, _how’s this?_

Kravitz smiles, still embarrassed, but genuine. Maybe he's a real easy read, but he's also flattered. Taako really nailed him.

Nailed his aesthetic. His _aesthetic_. He reaches to take it from Taako.

"It's perfect. I love it."

"Rad," Taako says, grinning unabashedly. He's a _genius_. The creature clambers into the terrarium with minimal poking, although it doesn't seem to want to release Kravitz' fingers. "Can I get you anythin' else before you head out?"

"Um." Weirdly Kravitz is already getting attached to the tentacle crawling on him, but he gives it a little tickle to make it let go.

"Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but...what else....is there."

Taako laughs. "Fuck, dude, I don't know you, you could get anythin' else you wanted here--I have lots of sex stuff, but also a bunch like these-" he wiggles the tendrils he uses as auxiliary hands, "-an' I have, like, fancy cleaners and accessories and shit, for the suckers. Bespoke monster food."

"Um." _Do you want to know me?_ Kravitz's traitorous mind thinks. "Maybe I'll take a look around first. If. That's alright."

Taako raises an eyebrow. "Darling, this is a store. You're _encouraged_ to take a look around. -Oh, shit, right, I'll definitely forget, here's my card. This'll let you find the store again if something goes wrong with your monster or you want something else. Or if you just wanna come say hi, y'feel?" He winks.

Is this guy flirting with Kravitz, or just trying to upsell? Kravitz grabs the card at lightning speed anyway.

"Right. Um, thanks." He shouldn't be weird. Taako runs a store, he's just being nice to customers. Just because of the nature of the store's goods doesn't mean Krav can be a creep. His ears grow hot and Kravitz whirls away to get lost in an aisle that Taako isn't standing in.

"Thanks!!" he repeats, forgetting if he already said that and afraid of being rude(r).

Taako raises his eyebrows as Kravitz bolts away. He's _pretty_ sure that was a good-flustered response, nice.

He wanders back to the counter, picking up his project from his chair and returning to sculpting. He keeps one eyestalk on Kravitz, but he's not too worried. He seems both considerate and careful, so he's probably not going to steal or break anything.

Kravitz explores the well-packed aisles, stocked with all variety of arcane and eccentric things. He leans in to look at one that turns and blinks a great big eye at him and he yelps and stumbles back, nearly knocking over a over-burdened shelf. After that, he keeps his hands firmly on his terrarium, afraid to mess anything else up.

Taako snorts. It's unfair that he's still handsome when he's all puffed-up from being startled, but he _is_ , and it makes Taako want to see how he looks in all _manner_ of strong feelings. He's momentarily rueful that he genuinely can't see or hear in his fitting room, but he shakes it off and just enjoys the show he _does_ get.

Kravitz, despite being self-conscious, is immensely curious and seems to only now be breaking into The Good Shit™ when it comes to kink. He explores a number of displays down to the tiny details, takes a few surreptitious pictures with his phone, gets extremely flustered in the bondage zone, nearly buys but sadly puts back a pack of lozenges to make oral more interesting. The one thing he does bring back to the counter is a booklet of tips and tricks on tentacles and other such things, but he keeps casting longing glances over his shoulder. He'll surely be back in no time.

Taako's grinning as he rings him up. "I know that face," he purrs, "that's the face of someone who's gonna be back. Which is just as well, if all my customers were as handsome as you I'd be the happiest shopkeeper in the world. Swing by again when you're free, I make new stuff periodically!"

Kravitz can barely breathe, but he knows Taako is right. He's already dividing his next paycheck up in his head. He takes his purchases and makes sure they're well wrapped and bagged, makes sure he has the business card, checks his pockets for all his belongings....stalling, in other words. But the exchange is over, and he needs to step it on home.

Which coincidentally is not a bad place to be with a new toy.

"Thank you so much, Taako." Kravitz manages, as warmly as he can while still embarrassed to the gills. "I think this will be..." what's not a freaky way to put it. "Really nice. I hope I'll see you again," in the exact amount of days plus one that it's not creepy he's already back? "Sometime soon. Have a, um. Nice evening." Damn, he said nice twice. Fuck. "Bye."

And he's already edging towards the door.

Oh, Taako is _fucked_ , that genuine-but-awkward smile is too cute for words. "Bye, Krav, you have a _great_ evening," he calls to his retreating form, trying to get in just a little more teasing before this delightful and gorgeous stranger is gone once more.

Before Kravitz reaches the door, Taako tilts his head, trying to focus on him. If he can, he'll open the doors close to where he's going. It's the least he can do.

Kravitz is a little surprised when the doors open to a different place, but. Shit, it seems to track. He catches a bus home, blushing the entire time like someone can see into his suspiciously non-descript black paper bag, or knows what exactly went down in the last hour. He took a shower, it's not like it's visible, but he can still feel exactly where they touched him, and he's already planning something quick for dinner so he can eat and then immediately break in his new toy.

He's horribly excited. It's a whole new world, and he's ready to invite it in.

_Thanks, Taako._


	2. Trial Two--A Golem, Living Latex, and a Handsome Reward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only a few days later, Kravitz returns to the store and Taako makes him the offer to test products in return for store freebies. Definitely not because Taako wants him to keep coming back. This is totally a thing he offers all of his customers. 
> 
> Kravitz is well on his way to being smitten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This chapter sets up their relationship more than getting physical. Don't worry--the horny is coming.)
> 
> As always, please leave a comment if you enjoy, or even just copy and paste your favorite line! The exuberant response to chapter one kicked the editing process into high gear, which is why another chapter is posting so quickly! Thank you!

The day Kravitz comes back isn't quite the same as the first time; it's one of those rare and frustrating days where Taako has actually had several customers, and most of them have been _extremely_ irritating. He spent an hour arguing over a custom with a woman who insisted, contrary to her _written request_ , that she'd wanted something different, followed by several uncomfortably forward men with a need to pick at his consent policy. Needless to say it's with some trepidation that he looks up when the bell above the door rings, this time.

Kravitz enters with a shy little wave, taking his sunglasses off and putting them in his bag. He's not wearing street clothes today--quite the opposite. He is dapper as _fuck_ in a well-tailored suit, his locs back in a high and tight ponytail. His shoes are even shiny. And he's exhausted. It was a long, long, long day, and he finally broke his embargo on spending more money and embarrassing himself in front of other people.

And now he's here.

And his plan sort of stopped there. What more could he need? His tentacle is perfect, and he's used it [ **redacted** ] times without a hitch. But. He wants, and he aches, and, honestly? He wanted to see the owner again. For no reason. Maybe he was just the last stranger that was nice to Kravitz, or maybe it was his beautiful face, or his adorable ears, or the way his voice made Kravitz shiver. But the fact remains that he's standing in the doorway, without any sort of shopping list, and Taako looks twice as haggard as Kravitz feels. It makes him even more beautiful, unfortunately for Kravitz's nerves.

The relief that washes over Taako upon realizing it's not another _fucking_ white human dude is replaced almost immediately with a dry-mouthed sort of awe at the way Kravitz looks. He stares for a moment, his mouth falling slightly open, then shakes his head almost violently and summons up a cheerful smile just shy of hungry. "Kravitz! Holy shit, dude, you clean up _nice_ ," he says. "Welcome back."

"What? Um, thank you?" Kravitz looks down and remembers that not everybody wears nice suits all the time, and subsequently that Taako thinks he looks _nice_ , and flushes. "Hello, um. Again. Sorry I'm back so soon? Nothing is broken or anything, I just. Felt. Liiiiiike. Looking around." Close enough.

He steps in before he does anything else dumb. Then he looks around for new stuff, as if Taako will have gotten more things, somehow, in less than a week, when he makes it all himself or something like that. Kravitz confesses that he doesn't remember most of the actual words Taako said at him, only the sultry tones he said them in.

Taako leans forward over the counter, finger-combing a spell into his hair to make it look a little less frizzy, and grins at him, purring, "Let me know if you see anything you like, yeah?" His ears flick forward, warm, betraying his nonchalance a little bit, but honestly-- _Kravitz_ doesn't have room to judge momentary fractures in composure. It's fine.

Kravitz loses track of all of the thoughts in brain central station when Taako looks at him like that. His ears are so cute. Fuck.

"Um. Yeah. I'll. Do that, yes, thank you. Okay." Kravitz is a fool. And he's making a double fool of himself in front of this very excellent and handsome and talented man, who is working. And why, exactly is Kravitz here?? To gawk? To make a stupid face? Well, he's certainly achieved that.

He blushes and loses himself in the nearest aisle, watching the simple beasts show their stuff. He smiles when he sees how far the knitting one has gotten on its...sock? Does that make it a tentacle sweater?

Taako's mood has improved exponentially in a truly record-breaking amount of time. Kravitz should offer his services as a therapy tool, _cute enough to fix a bad day in seconds._

He does a flip over the counter that nobody is watching to properly appreciate, then wanders over to where Kravitz is standing, tail swishing happily. "So, hey," he says, making a bet with himself--either Kravitz will jump, and he'll put in an extra hour of work on his current project, or he'll be smooth and Taako won't have to worry about it till tomorrow.

He wins either way.

Kravitz jumps, like clockwork. He also makes a rather terrible noise. He relaxes a little when he realizes it's only Taako, but then he's back on edge, when he realizes, oh no. It's _Taako_. He isn't ready for this.

 _God_ , he's cute. Unfair. Taako clears his throat, perhaps a bit belatedly. "-Sorry," he says, not at all genuinely, "I just--have. Um. Okay _listen_ , so, you seem."

Eager. Gorgeous. Horny as hell. Taako's type to the letter.

"- _Enthusiastic_ , and I've been needing, uh, uh, some sort of tester for my new stuff? I mean, I try it myself first so I'm sure it's safe, but like-If you'd be interested, I could, like, compensate you in, uh, store credits or whatever-" Taako pauses, aware this might be a Bit Much. But he really does need a tester, and Kravitz is _so_ cute, who can blame him for wanting an excuse to see him more often? He tugs at an ear. "Uh. No, um, no pressure, I just. Thought I'd float the idea."

Kravitz has a hard time processing that while Taako, who has thus far been teasing, amused, and aloof, is actually hesitating, but the words all sort of catch up and slam into him like a screen door.

"You want me to test.....your.............................products?"

This isn't real. Is this real? It can't be real.

If it is real, what should Kravitz say?????

Taako nods. "Yeah, uh-I mean, you'd obviously get to pick and choose, I just--you seem really nice, and you came back after _four days_ , so I figured--listen. I make a lot of shit, and I'm not always sure if it's actually good, so." He shrugs. "You're free to say no, homie, but I figure trying out crazy shit in exchange for free stuff is a pretty good deal?"

Four days. It was too soon. Kravitz should have known.

Except. Here's the thing. Aside from the fact that it's very embarrassing and potentially dangerous. Why should he say no? Taako is cute, his monsters are _very good_ , the whole premise is exciting, Taako will almost certainly work within his work schedule, Kravitz would get to see Taako more and Taako would be interested in him, in making him feel good-

"-YES." He blurts out. And then the words just spill out of his open stupid-hole. Fuck. "Fuck- I'm - shit, sorry, yes, yes I would, if that's okay, no, you said, already, that it's okay which iiiis... why you're asking, I'm so sorry, yes, I would, yes. Yes? Yes is my answer, I am so sorry."

He claps his hands over his mouth and wills himself to literally be mortified.

Taako collapses into giggles, bracing himself with a hand on Kravitz' shoulder. "So...yes? I think I might have caught a yes in there, I'm not sure, say it a few dozen more times-" he covers his mouth with his hand, nervous energy and genuine amusement mixing in his chest to form a laughing fit. "Oh, man, really though, I--thanks, you're--very nice and also _very_ cute-"

He breaks down again, wheezing. He can't help it; it's been a shitty day, and now here's this precious adonis agreeing to his batshit proposition and it's like everything has been washed away---all the entitled jerks, and the gross otakus, and the nasty back-and-forth with that goddamn rich asshole---and been replaced by this. He's not sure what _this_ is just yet, but he likes it.

Taako is laughing at him. Taako is laughing so hard he's doubled over and _wheezing_. Kravitz is hideously embarrassed, but. On the flip side. Taako's laugh is _glorious_. Kravitz wants to bottle it and take it home with him. He's so, so, so good. It's impossible to tolerate. Kravitz considers melting into the floor. But then Taako would have to clean him up, and that would be even worse.

"I'm. Sorry. I- It. Anyway. Um. You know. Uh."

Screen door slams again in the wind. _Cute_. _Very nice and very cute_. How is he meant to live through this torment? Maybe one of Taako's creatures can eat him alive.

"What. Did you. Want me to test."

"Oh, _gorgeous_ , don't be _sorry_ , you are absolutely the best thing to happen to me in ages," Taako says, brushing a tear from his eye. "Fuck, I shouldn't laugh at you when you're obviously nervous, I just-that was _precious_." He pushes his hair out of his face, taking deep breaths. His ears are burning.

"Okay, okay, god, fuck-I have this thing I've been working on-I think you might have seen part of it last time you were here? It's like, semi-transparent pink? Um, it's not as--simple as the one I sold you on Saturday, it's probably easier if I actually show you."

Kravitz almost doesn't hear him, busy replaying half off Taako's words in his head. _Gorgeous. Don't be sorry. **Gorgeous**. Don't be sorry. **PRECIOUS**_...Kravitz is going to evaporate. Just. Poof. He has a few sick days. He can hang out in the atmosphere for a while.

"Um, sure, go, ahead?" He puts down the blindfold he'd been gripping in his hopefully not-too-sweaty hands and lets Taako lead him into a new chapter of his life. He has a feeling it'll be marked _explicit_.

Taako leads him to the back of the store, waving his hand to open a door that was _definitely_ not there a moment ago. He ushers Kravitz through into a...laboratory, of sorts, or maybe more of an art studio--it's messy, either way, less decorated than the shop but more lived-in, sturdy, worn wooden countertops covered in all manner of monster fragments. Unrecognizable ingredients hang from the ceiling, which has several mismatched skylights letting in warm sunlight. It's chaotic and strange and very _Taako_ , by the mix of craft-store glitter and eyes in jars.

This place...it's the strangest place Kravitz has ever been _invited_ into, and it's...amazing. And weirdly comfortable. He almost likes it better than the shop. The clutter seems to be a Taako thing, and, looking around, so does...everything else. It's immensely private and telling, and it helps Kravitz feel....a little less exposed. As does the nature of the task. Well, he didn't exactly intend to do any possessions today, but. It's starting to occur to Kravitz that testing products might involve telling Taako about how he _used_ those products and what that _felt like_ and okay this may have been an ill-advised decision.

But.

Laid out on one counter is a sort of person-shaped thing, more firm in structure than most of Taako's creations. It's all in a cloudy pink that catches the light beautifully, with big, _big_ hands and a strange, ribcage-like torso.

"It's, uh, it's not as horny as maybe you were hoping--this one, at least, you're free to try out any of those, and they're _mad_ horny-" he waves at a big cabinet of dormant monsters, several of which have suction cups and at least one of which is taller than the two of them combined. "-I thought I'd, um, start with something that's not explicitly, uh, uh, explicit--see if you're comfortable, work from there. This guy is a, uhh, a physical augmentation...thing? I'm still working on marketing. Basically you possess it, with your brain."

"That's so neat! I mean-" Kravitz clears his throat. "That's, incredible, Taako. That's. I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but that's incredibly strong magic?" He looks at Taako, not at his elegant features or his adorable ears or even his sizeable hair, but at Taako-as-a-person, and marvels a little at the genius hiding behind the aloofness. This is literally genius-level magic, significant shit, and maybe the lewd nature of the majority of his intentions puts it at a bit of a tonal-disadvantage, but this is groundbreaking work.

"Taako, this is _amazing_."

Taako's ears flick up and back and he smiles, pleased and a bit self-conscious. "Well, y'know. You gotta, uh, lean into what you're good at. And I'm good at," he waves his hands. "Monsters."

He clears his throat, darting over to a countertop and tugging what looks like a tourmaline circlet out of a pile of various detritus. "Okay so the way this works, _hypothetically_ , is with this thing. When you put it on, it _should_ transfer the sensations in and control of the...uhhhh....... pink dude over there to you. I actually super need help with this, 'cause I can usually control my critters _anyway_ , so you see the, uh, the problem in testing its remote control capabilities."

"Oh, um. Alright. Like a golem." Wear a circlet, give some orders. Kravitz can probably do that, and if he does, Taako will appreciate him. Square deal.

Also. Just. He'll note it and bury it for later. But he likes Taako talking about control.

Taako's grin is blinding. " _Radical_ , here," he says, pressing the circlet into Kravitz' hands. He darts over to the golem to look it over, just in case, then hops up on one of the wall counters to watch, his legs kicking aimlessly.

He made the hands the perfect size for lifting elves, but he's not about to _mention_ it. "It should start automatically when you put it on, handsome! If something hurts or wigs you out and you can't get it off for whatever reason just say red and I'll come stop it."

Kravitz nods, a bit hesitant, but. It's such a grand experiment, and Taako already could have murdered him in like seventeen strange ways, and it's so _cool_ , is the thing, so he jams that motherfucker on his head and waits for something to happen. And…

It's weird. He can still feel his own body, but it's like it's encased in honey, weighted down and held close. His vision isn't split, exactly, so much as _warped_ ; he can still see out of his eyes but it's hazy, covered over by a view of the world from a different angle, all in pink.

His hands feel heavy. His legs are strange and sharp. Taako is whooping from the wall, thrilled with the fact that the golem just sat up.

It's weirdly comforting, is the first thought Kravitz has. The second is _holy fuck_ , which he feels is appropriate. His natural impulse is to do the thing to make the golem do the thing, and he tries that strategy by waving shyly at Taako...but that isn't wholly practical if he can control it, himself but different, with his mind.

So he wills it to stand.

It stands. Its balance isn't perfect, and it hasn't put its hand down from waving, but it _stands_ , and it wasn't _Taako_ that told it to, and Taako could _sing_.

But he won't. Kravitz thinks he's hot, he doesn't want to ruin that already. Instead he hops off the counter to go look at it, darting around to take it in from different angles. It's incredible. He has to know how fine the motor functions get.

"Hey, there's a blackboard over there, d'you think you'd be able to write on it like this?"

Taako is so wonderful. His excitement is palpable and Kravitz almost feels like kissing him.

"Blackboard? Um. Right." Kravitz wills the golem to walk over there and tries to make it pick up the chalk. He hates touching chalk. Hopefully he doesn't actually feel it, although that brings up a lot of questions.

Sensation is muted. He almost falls a few times, unused to feet that end in points, but he does make it to the chalkboard eventually, and when he lifts a stick of chalk he can tell there's something pinched between his massive fingers, but it doesn't particularly feel like chalk.

"Careful, you might crush it," Taako says, following behind curiously.

"Huh?" Kravitz looks at Taako and crushes it. "Oops..."

He picks up another piece.

"Um, what should I write?"

Taako laughs into his hand. "I dunno, whatever you like. I just wanna see how controlled the motions are, so, uh, smaller the better, I guess?"

Kravitz draws a heart. Maybe too on the nose.

He tries.......hm. He writes his name in smaller and smaller letters, then Taako's name....

Double oops. He writes a few random nouns after that. To. Throw off any trail there may be.

Taako bites his lip, trying not to make any teakettle noises. "Perfect, thanks," he says, leaning up against the golem's arm to see what he wrote. "Would you say this is similar to your normal handwriting?"

"Mm....close. It's a bit rough and angular, but I suppose that makes sense. It's harder to make fluid movements." Sinking onto analysis, it's easier to forget his embarrassment.

"Like..." Kravitz writes his name in cursive. "See how sharp it is? Hold on." He writes...fuck, can't write Taako again. He writes 'welcome' as smoothly as he can. "Yeah, it's getting better, but it's still rough."

Taako bounces on the balls of his feet. "Fantastic, my dude. D'you wanna try anything else while you've got that tiara on? Because quite frankly I'm just psyched out of my mind that it _worked_ , so."

Kravitz puts down the chalk and moves as if to wipe his hands on his pants. "Um, sure, alright. What should I do, fold paper? Should I pick something heavier up? What exactly are you testing?"

Taako blinked. "Mostly just that someone who's not me can use it properly, if I'm being honest," he says. "If you want, you can stop now. -Oh, you should try picking me up, though, that would be fun!"

He says this as though he's only just thought of it and does not particularly relish the idea of being lifted like a doll, which is a lie.

"Right, okay. Um, hold still, I don't want to hurt you."

Very carefully, Kravitz directs the golem to walk to Taako and delicately sweep him off his feet.  
  
Taako gasps as he’s lifted, laughing delightedly.

“Holy shit, _nice_ ,” he says, curling into the hand that holds him, the tip of his tail flicking wildly. “You can stop whenever, this is just really cool.”

It's so cute. The weird urge to kiss Taako doesn't go away, and nervously, Kravitz puts him down before anything weird happens. He would be crushed if he hurt Taako. Or. Well. Taako would be crushed, and Kravitz would be fleeing the city.

But he would be very sad about it.

"You must have done a very good job, Taako. I've seen all sorts of magic this ambitious at my job, but nothing that actually worked."

Taako grins. “Just put it down on the bench again,” he says, absently, then his ears perk up and he turns to look at Kravitz’ real body. “Ooh, what do you do?”

"Oh. nothing big," Kravitz says, suddenly realizing it may pose a problem and putting everything down rather quickly. "I just ensure that people who do big magic have all the proper licenses for it. You know, to stay within the bounds of, safety, and, the law."

Taako considers this, then shrugs. Sure, he doesn’t have any _licenses_ , per se, but he figures the grandfather clause might apply to his shop, and if it doesn’t, it’s not like he can’t just vanish. Plus, he’s safe. He’s safer than the law requires.

“Huh. Well, I’ve been doin’ big magic for a long time,” he says. “It’s not that hard to make sure it’s safe. Just gotta make sure what you make knows not to hurt people.”

He pauses. “Well, not to hurt them much. I do have some that give hickeys.”

Kravitz is a little relieved. "For what it's worth, I've never seen any complaints about you or your shop. We deal a lot with necromancers and people trying to do public events and making fools of themselves. Like, wedding proposals and bets. Graverobbing. Forgery."

Will his boss know if he pretended to look the other way? It's not good. It's really, really not good. And suddenly Kravitz's stomach is inside out. "You do have paperwork, though, right?"

HE SHOULDN'T HAVE ASKED HE COULD HAVE PRETENDED TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HE'S A FOOL AND HE'S FUCKED THIS UP ALREADY-

"-And if not it would be relatively easy for me to draw some up for you, you know, to make sure everything was as safe on paper as it is in the shop-"

Taako snorts. “Uhhhh,” he says, “I think I have a bill of purchase from mid-eighteenth century France for the building and a license to sell goods from 1933 in, um, Kansas? I don’t know, dude, I’m pretty sure my store is international waters, and also historical? No idea, you’re the first ethical person with a job like yours that’s ever actually found the place.”

Kravitz swallows his pride and his duties and decides to keep it to himself unless he finds something dangerous, in part because that sounds horrendously complicated.

"I'm sure you have some.......precedent. Having owned the store for that long. Which. Long, very long? Very long, Taako. How long have you actually been...doing this?"

Taako hums, gazing into the middle distance. “Uhhhhh...I opened _this_ shop in 1779, which, in retrospect, not a fantastic time for business ventures in France, I’ve been bouncing around since then—I started makin’ critters...ages ago.” He shrugs. “Supply and demand, I guess. I do okay.”

Kravitz blinks slowly at him. Steeples his fingers. Controls his reaction.

"I see," he says, as if this is something he stumbles across every day. "I see." Hundreds of years. No wonder Taako is so good. He's had plenty of time to practice.

Taako shrugs. He’s more or less forgotten how long People™ live at this point, but Kravitz doesn’t seem too startled, so a couple centuries can’t be _that_ wild.

He stretches, pulling his arms up above his head and cracking his back. “If you feel up to it, you’re free to try any of the things on the blue table over there, but they’re a little more, uh, more like what you got last time. If you’re good on tests for the day I’d say you’ve earned a lil’ store credit, pick out an accessory or something if you want from the actual shop.”

Lost in calculating what exactly Taako's longevity means compared to him, Kravitz goes over to the table in question to inspect the goods. A free accessory...what should he get? Something pretty? Something fun? Something useful?

The table offers few solutions. It’s mostly covered in lidded containers containing creatures made for inscrutable purposes; there’s one that looks like a pile of tiny hands, which is a little unsettling, and another that’s not actively recognizable as anything but purplish-black ooze at the moment. Most, also, have between one and five post-it notes on the box somewhere, with little scribbles on them like ’ _teeth_?’ and ’ _probably fine except the creepiness factor, find an outside opinion_ ’ and even one that reads ’ _reminder: stop trying to make this one GOOD, that lady is paying you seven figures for her bad idea without your input._ ’ They’re all in the dormant state recognizable as _off_ , although the purpley ooze shifts faintly as if driven by a slow, unseen tide.

“Like I said, no pressure to try any of those today, but if you have questions go ahead and ask ‘em,” Taako says.

Seven figures. Kravitz's eyebrows jump a little at that. What kind of person would pay more than many people earn a _year_ on garbage? Let alone not let Taako do his job? He's clearly an expert.

What the hell kind of sex toy can you get for 7 figures?

...What kind of toy would Kravitz dream of?  
Kravitz frowns, and, though probably not the best choice he's ever made, touches the ooze.

As his fingers make contact with it, the ooze begins to cling and spread, seeping up his arm like a liquid glove. There’s not enough of it for it to spread past his shoulder, but what it does touch it coats in a smooth, velvety substance that’s cool to the touch and opaque.

Taako notices, ambling over with a smile. “Oh, yeah, that thing,” he says. “I’ve done, like, living latex before, but never anything I found particularly pretty or interesting, so I was experimenting with, uh, uh, basically living...ish..clothes? If I made enough of it it would have the same instinct to fuck as any of the other critters here, but that little pretty much just works as a glove.”

"Woah-" Kravitz is a bit startled, but when it stops, he takes a moment to admire it. "Strange..."

Maybe not on his top five list, but perhaps worth following up. And then...

"Tell me the story here." He points to the 7 figure mistake. Then tries to remove the sex glove without embarrassing himself.

“Oh _gods_ ,” Taako groans, tapping the side of the hands terrarium in irritation. “This woman—who is to remain unnamed but is apparently famous—came up with the brilliant idea of a creature that’s basically a sea urchin made of hands, and refused to let me make the arms wiggly and extendable instead of static, with _elbows_.” He says _elbows_ like it’s some kind of horrendously revolting thing, as though he is not himself the possessor and guardian of at least two.

“She seems to think it’s gonna be fantastic for sex and massages but none of the hands have any _maneuverability_ , so it’s just a big expensive disaster. I’m charging for every finger individually, I hate joints.”

He pauses, raising an eyebrow at Kravitz's continued and fruitless attempt. “Just tap your palm twice, it’ll let go.”

"Yikes, rich people..." Kravitz mutters, tapping his palm twice to let it slide back into a blob he can hold in his hands. "That thing is going to haunt me. How do you- I mean- where would she even- how-"

He shakes his head, unable to articulate the sheer confusion and revulsion the thing inspired. He's feeling....a little more comfortable with Taako. It's nice to have an almost-conversation with him, even if Krav isn't saying much. Honestly, he'd kind of just be down to hear him talk about his work.

"Yeah, I have no idea, my dude," Taako says, snorting. "I _told_ her to let me change it, but she insisted."

He leans against the table casually, a smaller, softer smile on his face than he's turned Kravitz's way before. "--Hey, really, m'man, thanks. For, uh, not just...bookin' it as soon as I asked, I guess? Come by whenever you're feeling adventurous, I'll always have stuff to try out."

Kravitz smiles back, hopelessly strung along with this charming weirdo and his house of horny horrors. Always. Whenever. That's a loaded concept. How often can he do this before it becomes a Thing? Surely Taako has other testers, right? Other business to take care of?

"I mean...it was really interesting. I- it's easy to get, I don't know, self conscious, about. These sort of things. But you're so confident and skilled and knowledgeable so I sort of...started feeling more comfortable by proxy? Does that make sense? Maybe I'm being strange." Kravitz runs his neck and stares at the pink golem he'd driven only minutes ago with just his brain meat and wonders if he's well past just 'strange'.

Taako grins. "I like my job," he says, shrugging. "Even despite the weird rich people."

He turns, taking the living cloth from Kravitz with a confident hand and dumping it back into its jar. "I was a chef for a while. You'd be surprised at the similarities."

"A chef?" In what century? "What was your...genre? specialty? I have to admit, I'm no good at either." Maybe that's a bit much. Doesn't it sound like he's fishing for...something? Taako to cook for him?? That's pretty forward, even after... whatever this is?

Taako laughs. "I dabbled in a lot of shit," he says. "Mostly whatever was available--when we were kids, it was usually Whatever Garbage We Had Stew, but it got a little more sophisticated eventually. Did a lot of pastry when we lived in France, which is honestly _more_ complicated than making monsters, god."

He leans back on his hands, smiling at the ceiling. "Definitely got me used to the trial and error and chemistry parts, at least. I mean, I still--it's not like I _don't cook_ anymore or anything, it's just not my job. I did make brownies last night, though, I think they're still up at the register? I offer 'em as comp when people spend a bunch of money, I'll give you a couple if you like."

"Oh, brownies sound so good right now. I almost bought some at the grocery store yesterday." Kravitz rolls the new information around in his head, picking over the juicy bits. It's too easy to get enchanted as Taako talks and miss things places to interject appropriately.

"Does that mean monsters are relatively simple, or that French pastry is a non-starter?...Wait, who is 'we'?"

Oops. Maybe that was impolite. It's not unheard of for immortals to have families. What of it?? Stop being nosy, Kravitz!

“Monsters make _sense_ , homie,” Taako says, fanning out his elegantly-manicured hands before clasping them in front of him. “Sweets for pre-revolution French royalty did _not_. Fuckin'--towers of nonsense in a sugar shell, painted green with poison.” He shakes his head, hopping off the counter and starting to head for the door. “Fuckin’ rich people, man. They never change.”

He leaves Kravitz’ other question unanswered, but it’s not conspicuous, necessarily—more like he was still working with his previous train of thought.

Just to be on the safe side, Kravitz doesn't push it. He keeps going with the baking anyway, because it's actually rather fascinating.

"The French sure did love their poison." He coughs, realizing he sounds a bit wistful. "Most people did at the time. It's a wonder any living creatures survived."

He follows Taako out, still in the weird zone between trying to have a nice conversation and wanting to impress him and wanting to immediately disappear into the wind, never to be seen again. But the golem was seriously neat, and the more Kravitz sees of Taako, the more he likes. Part of him wants to invent any reason possible to overstay his welcome.

"So, in the way of accessories, do you have any........suggestions?"

Taako hums, thinking, as the workshop door vanishes again behind them. “Hmm, well, you seemed interested in blindfolds, which are always fun...you could get somethin’ like that, or, like, earplugs, a gag—all sorts of sensory-dep shit is really fun with these things. If you’ve got someone to impress, I bet you’d look _great_ in thigh-highs or a collar or something.”

Kravitz flushes, feeling teased.

"That, no. Um. No, not right, now, maybe, eventually..."

Not that that's a big possibility.

"Is there a point to doing that............by yourself?" He's going to sink into the mantle of the planet and never resurface. Hi, person I've met twice. How best would you suggest I creatively masturbate alone because I have no one to hold dear or humor my strange interests?

Taako hums. “Well, the cool thing about autonomous toys is that you’ve got that element of surprise, right? So, blindfolds and shit are fun. As for fashion—“ he shrugs. “It feels good to look good, I guess.”

"Oh...I guess you're right." Kravitz fingers a blindfold in a beautiful pattern. "It's hard to justify." He would love to have thigh highs. Silky smooth and long. Lacy. He would love to be....beheld in thigh highs. Not that he has any idea of how that would work, and not that he wouldn't be terribly, horribly embarrassed when it happened. But...Well, if he can fuck a tentacle, can't he imagine a boyfriend?

Taako snorts. “Well, the cool thing about free shit is you don’t _need_ to justify it,” he says. “I mean, you can put it on the back burner if you want, or, like, combo it with testing another thing to get more out of it—I don’t actually have a point system or anything but that feels sensible—but. I don’t know, you seem like you could really rock some stockings.”

Kravitz picks up the stockings. He puts down the stockings.

He picks up the stockings.

Is.......Taako thinking about how good his legs would look? He doesn't want to assume, but....he glances at Taako.

What if...?

Taako‘s gaze flicks up to meet his, his cheshire grin at odds with the pink that tinges his ears at being caught staring. “Listen, I’m just saying, you can _not_ go wrong with thigh-highs.”

Kravitz blushes, putting two and two together and finally at least getting an even number. He could... he could make a comment. Something daring. Would you like to see them? Or, or, a challenge-- I'll take that bet! Or....Could you show me how to put them on?

But all that tumbles out is "I'll take these, then. Please." So smooth.

Taako is going to _die_. This is it, this is the end. His demise will be at the fumbling hands of the world’s cutest, most awkward dumbass.

“I mean,” he laughs, “I will happily give those to you, doll, one-hundo percent. You got anything else on your to-do list for today?”

 _Please don’t leave yet_ , he valiantly manages not to say. _Please try them on and give me a show. Fuck, get a whole ensemble, I’d give you anything if you agreed to show me how you look in it._

Kravitz does an embarrassing sort of wiggle at the nickname. Doll. Imagine... What would it be like to get dressed up and spoiled by someone as skilled and knowledgeable as Taako??? Fuck, Kravitz, control yourself.

But he can't leave it alone.

"Do you, um. You probably don't, but. Maybe you know, like, where I can get some of those skull tights- I mean you probably don't have men's sizes, but I need a bigger, It's- it's okay if you don't, I just, have longer legs, and,"

Holy fucking _god_ Kravitz is cute. Dumb fucking goth nerd. Stupid goth nerd with his dumb stupid adorable wiggles. It takes Taako a second to register the question.

“Oh, yeah, for sure! If I don’t have any in your size I’ll just size ‘em up, lemme check real quick,” he says, rushed. He flicks a hand at one tentacle, which fishes through his hosiery section until it finds a pair in exquisite lace. “Here.”

A tiny "Ohh..." escapes him as he inspects the tights, just as beautiful and well made as he had hoped for. He's almost afraid to wear them. Not to mention he has no clue what to wear them with. But they're just gorgeous, and he can't help but be excited at the potential.

"Do you, um. Do you have a lot of other apparel?" If it's a one off, that's fine, but...Kravitz can't help but imagine a skirt to go with, short and swishy, or... a soft, long sleeved shirt to pull over his hands... He's almost tempted to try them on, maybe...take pictures...

For whom? Who knows. Himself, maybe, although that's a lonely answer. Surely Taako wouldn't want pictures of his lingerie. Inappropriate contacts from his customers like that would probably make him uncomfortable.

Taako grins; he can imagine all sorts of things to pair with what Kravitz is looking at.

“Y-yeah, sure thing,” he says, then curses his stutter internally. “I have, uh, I have--lingerie is in this aisle, obviously, but I also have, uh, a lot of novelty clothes? I mean—they’re well made! Just. A lot of stuff with, uh, tentacle motifs and eyes and stuff. That’s. On the far wall. Um, everything I have I have in a big variety of sizes, gender distinctions are. Not my cup of tea.” He swings his hips as he says this, demonstrating the swooshy nature of his skirt.

Kravitz smiles.

"Yeah, I...I really like that. I've thought about it before, but I work in a kind of suit and tie place, so I've never really... you know... experimented that much..."

Clutching his two pairs, he tours up and down the aisle, looking for inspiration. He likes the way the tentacle motifs reach out and grab him, but maybe he should stick to his subtler aesthetic for now.

There’s a lot of black. As far as lingerie goes, it’s definitely the dominant color, usually in graceful lace and soft satin. The clothes are generally in purples and greens, but black makes an appearance there too, including in some lovely, soft skirts and a slightly silly eldritch-themed leather jacket.

Most noteworthy, though, Taako has been cultivating his collection of lingerie that looks good on a masculine figure for decades. He considers pointing out some skull-lace panties and negligee, but he doesn’t _actually_ want his new favorite customer to melt.

Speaking of customers—one of Taako’s creatures pokes at his mind and he sighs. “Sorry, handsome, you’re gonna need to explore the world of fashion without Taako’s expert guidance for a sec,” he says. “Someone just came through the door, gimme a minute.”

"Right, um, sorry." Kravitz curses himself for taking up so much of Taako's time. He really, really hopes he didn't inconvenience any of the other customers.

He forgets his embarrassment, though, as he touches every individual piece in Taako's amazing collection. They're beautiful, simply amazing, and he can't help but put a few things over his arm. He wants to try some on, just in case, but the thought of the "fitting room" makes his face warm enough to fry an egg. Maybe he can just take them home and return them if they aren't right. But. Well. It's quite a lot of money to spend on self indulgence. He really _ought_ to be sure....

He waffles while he waits for Taako to come back, nearly helpless without his guidance. It's not a good look, as his looks go.

The customer is a familiar one, who has a complaint about the functionality of a creature that he was explicitly and repeatedly told could only do one thing. Taako carefully schools his face into a neutral, friendly expression, but diverts most of his actual consciousness to a bit of himself near Kravitz.

Oh, he looks so _lost_ , he’s adorable. He has the little monster (blob body, one eyestalk, three purple tendrils) poke him on the shoulder from its spot on a nearby shelf.

Kravitz, predictably, jumps. He makes a stupid noise and inspects the creature, mystified. His arms are quite full of clothes he'll look absolutely darling in.

The thing doesn’t have a _mouth_ , so Taako just has it quietly offer up a dressing room key and a questioning expression.

Kravitz flushes.

"It's- it's not- is it the same one? As before, I mean, with- Fuck, I don't know how you'd tell me..."

He rubs his face.

Taako’s Customer Service Smile™ becomes just a _shade_ more genuine. The little creature bobs its eyestalk in an appropriation of a nod.

Kravitz.........takes the key.

"Could you show me....?" He hugs his armload of clothes a little tighter, retroactively hoping he doesn't crush them. At least, the ones he will give back.

It wiggles off the shelf, hopping onto his shoulder and pointing in the direction Kravitz should go.

Kravitz follows its directions until he discovers the clothing dressing room, and then...what's....appropriate??

He pats the creature on the "head".

"Thanks?"

Taako slips up and snorts, prompting an angry line of questions from the customer, but god. Worth it. The creature, which acts on base instinct when he’s distracted, tips up against Kravitz’ hand, eye closing happily.

Cute. He lets himself into the dressing room. He's got way too much, but. Something in him got so excited at the idea of branching out. He carefully removes the tights from the package and tries those on first, shimmying and hopping until he gets them on.

And then he checks the mirror.

He looks gorgeous—of _course_ he does, the man is made of long legs and perfect skin, and everyone looks good in lace—but he looks. _Gorgeous_. Taako’s distracted by his customer, but in the back of his mind he gets a flash of Kravitz’ ass, which leads to him almost tripping over his feet standing still as his dedication to customer privacy wars with the Horny Gay Disaster inside of him.

He shuts off the extension’s link to his mind and coughs, ears scarlet.

“Sorry,” he says, “uh, fever. Suddenly. Could you—email me the details of your complaint? I can have a more helpful response by tomorrow.”

Kravitz feels.......good. He feels really good. Sure, he's still a little shy, but the lace just makes him feel...powerful. He wants to show someone. Too bad he doesn't have anyone to show. He snaps a picture with his phone anyway, and...almost sadly, tries on the rest. It's all so good, is the thing.

By the time Kravitz is done trying on his various Looks, Taako has managed to convince his problem customer that he's been overcome by a sudden and terrible illness and ushered him out the door before collapsing dramatically into his chair behind the counter for an audience of none. He toys with the idea of reactivating his control of the little creature he'd helped Kravitz out with, but he stomps on the part of his brain that wants to do that until it shuts up, instead snagging an unfinished mimic he's been shaping from below the counter to sculpt.

Kravitz comes out of the dressing room practically glowing and holding an armful of clothes. He takes it all up to the counter and smiles.

"I, um. I'll take all this, and then- This bit didn't fit, but I'll take the rest of them."

He puts the little creature on the counter too.

"Oh, and your, um. Little guy."

Taako bites his lip. "Are you offering to _buy_ said little guy? Because he's not particularly useful unless you're, uh, me. As for the rest of them, for sure! I'll give you the lot if you agree to test more stuff for me next time, yeah?" He pauses, considering raising an offer to change the size of the item Kravitz didn't fit but deciding against it. "I mean, unless you wanted to do some kinda fashion show. Get an outside opinion, or whatever."

"Oh no, I was just, returning- Wait, hold up, wait. Hang on. You don't have to- Wait. What- If I- wear the clothes, you'll give them to me?"

Taako laughs. "I didn't- I meant like, that's it for today unless you wanna show me, I'm still gonna get you to test _actual_ products next time--sorry, sorry. Tempting, though, you're cute enough to make me kinda wanna just give you free shit."

"Oh-" Kravitz blushes and struggles to look anywhere in Taako's direction. "I'm so sorry- I just assumed- I- Nevermind. I. Will just pay."

"Noooooo, you don't have to! Consider it advance for next time," Taako croons. He makes enough that he can afford to give stuff to Captain Adorable over here. "I mean, I do wanna compensate you if you're gonna be trying out stuff that's more, uh, intense than the golem."

"Right, um. Yes. Right. Okay." Kravitz almost honest to god _giggles_. "I, just. When. Um, when should I come back?"

Taako blinks. He hadn’t actually thought of that.

“When are you free?”

"I'm. Um. The weekends, mostly. But sometimes after work, maybe, depending, on how much I had to do that day? I guess maybe if you had a product to test, you could email me..."

Taako rolled his eyes. “I’ll just give you my number, I loathe checking my email. As for the immediate question—does Sunday work for you? I’d say block out a couple hours, probably.”

"Oh, um. Yes. That should work." Phone number. He's getting his phone number. That's...a thing, right? Or is this just business?

"What are you working on?"

Taako scribbles his phone number on a scrap of receipt as he replies. “Oh, uh, it’s a mimic. Nothing too fun, it’s just a jewelry box model—pretty popular, ‘cause it’s small but pretty, see?” He gently encourages the mimic to take on the shape it’ll be when it’s not in action, a lovely wooden box that would look perfectly at home on a shelf or dresser. It pops its lid open to wiggle a friendly tentacle at Kravitz.

"Oh, cute." He waves back, unsure how he's supposed to test that but sure that Taako will tell him that to do when the time comes. "Do you have any, um. Bags?" He doesn't want to explain an armload of clothes walking down the street, no matter how much they tickle his fancy. The photos seem to be burning a hole in his phone and he bites his lip, controlling his impulse to share them. Maybe.....Maybe eventually.

“Oh, shit, yeah, of course! Here, hang on—“ he ducks down behind the counter, popping back up with an inconspicuous black paper bag. “I can wrap ‘em in tissue paper, too, if you’re that kind of fancy,” Taako says.

The sheer indulgence of something that useless but pretty grabs him and Kravitz nods. This whole place really tickles his fancy and he can really see himself making a lot of financial mistakes here. But if Taako wants to provide, well. Kravitz has too little restraint to say no.

Taako grins at him, deftly folding the clothes into purple tissue paper with a pattern of cartoony monster eyes. "Uh, by the way- do you have anything in particular you'd want to try? I have a _bunch_ of prototypes, so if you've got ideas..."

"I, um. I don't know? I haven't really thought about it. It. Hm. I'll...think about it, and let you know?" Kravitz reaches for the bag and shifts from foot to foot. It's not as if he's not thought about it at all, but articulating it is an entirely different thing. Especially out loud, in a semi-public place.

"But, um. What kind of things are you working on?"

Taako smiles. "I could make that living cloth thing bigger, I have this fuckin'...dragon… thing............ I've been doing, I'm always making new mimics out of various objects. Just, like, what-uh, what sort of experience you looking for? Overwhelming, precise-like, just sort of general shit."

Overwhelming indeed. He's getting offered any fantasy he can dream up, on a silver platter, for free. He can't even narrow it down, let alone pick one and say it out loud. It's a dream come true, even if....well.

"I'll have to, uh. Think about it. You think about it and I think about it and then we can pick something, later, eventually, maybe?"

Taako laughs. He is so, so fucked. “For sure, man! Text me when you’ve given it some thought, okay?”

"Yep. You've got it. I have to go now, and lay down for fourteen hours, and then I will get back to you, if that's alright," Kravitz stammers and stumbles backwards out of the store. He hits the wall on the way out and has to turn to make it out the door.

The whole way home he curses himself for being such a dingus.

Taako laughs himself into a stomachache, then promptly drops his head into his hands and sits, paralyzed by his own _weird fucking decision-making skills_ until his sister shows up to take him to dinner, and also, presumably, drag him relentlessly until he dies.

Fucking _Kravitz_. Stupid cute goober. Taako just knows he’s going to be glancing at his phone every five minutes until he texts him like some kind of _teenager_.


	3. Trial Three--Trying to Flirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz feel each other out over a ridiculous amount of texts. They also share a few exciting (read, lingerie-clad) pictures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patience is not a virtue that I happen to possess. Your comments are fueling this fire, so keep it going and let us feel that sweet sweet love. Every bit counts!!! We want to consume your love!!!!!!

It takes Kravitz a painful age to text Taako. He has no idea what to say, what's appropriate. But he wants to talk to Taako so bad.

Well. He.

Chickens out.

**K: Hello, Taako. This is Kravitz.**

Taako pounces on his phone in a catlike motion. Not _graceful_. Catlike. He frowns at the formal tone, but figures it’s probably just...who Kravitz is, so he fires back in as nonchalant a tone as he can muster.

**T: hey krav!! hows it hangin**

Oh boy. Kravitz was hoping for some time, but Taako must not be too busy.

Um. Uh.

**K: I'm alright. How are you?**

He almost screams at himself. Taako is trying to have a casual conversation with him.

 **K:** 🙂

Gods above and below, this man will be the death of Taako.

**T: im doin pretty good! work work work 🦑🦑**

Kravitz smiles.

**K: What are you working on? I just got home.**

And he's still sitting there, shell-shocked among his non-purchases.

Taako glances wearily over his worktable, where he’s been since he closed. On impulse, he snaps a photo—it’s almost unreadable, a scattered mess of tangled tendrils and the occasional eyestalk, all in a variety of colors.

**T: oh mostly just restocking! had somebody order a buncha lil dudes for some shop out in like toronto or something so now im low on simple stuff**

**K: Wow. You must do a lot of business if you're the only supplier.**

He waffles over sending a picture in response. He wants to, but.

Okay, he can risk double texting.

**K: Do you want to see the outfit I bought?**

That's work related, right? Sort of?

**T: YES??**

Taako hits send before he can think better of the caps lock.

Kravitz is surprised into laughter. He sends the tamer picture, of the whole outfit. The soft black sweater, the swishy skirt, the skull tights.

**K: I need some shoes to go with it, I think.**

Oh. Oh _gods_ , Taako knows exactly how soft that sweater is; his mouth waters as his mind instantly rockets off to fantasize about how Kravitz’ chest must feel through it. He imagines, also, the feel of lace beneath his fingers, the roughsoft sensation of it stretched out over his thighs. It’s interesting how novel mundane touch becomes, when your status quo is monsters. Taako bats his ears, trying in vain to cool them.

**T: oh goddamn, what a Look**

**T:** **you should get some sort of heeled boots or smth, it would look hot as hell w/ the tights+skirt** 👌👌

Hot as hell???? _Hot as hell!_ Taako thinks Kravitz is hot as hell and Kravitz is melting. Craving more attention, his fingers type without his brain:

**K: Yeah I want some but I don't know where to look. My feet are pretty big so it's really hard to find cute shoes.**

And then right after, since shame has left the building,

**K: Do you want to see the other pictures? They're less sfw so I wasn't sure if you'd want to see them.**

_Score_ , Taako thinks.

**T: ill send u a link to some shoe places w/ ur size. unfortch that’s one of the things i don’t sell**

**T: also YES ABSOLUTELY. i bet u looked FANTASTIQUE 👀👀👀**

Kravitz barely gets off:

 **K: Are you sure? Men's 13s ☹**   
  
before he has to stop in his tracks and roll around on the couch for strength. Come on. He can do this.

The first picture is almost as tame, just with the mini-skirt, the one with the purple ribbon bows.

The next he sends is the thigh highs with no skirt, his pose somehow both soft and killer sexy for a guy taking mirror selfies. He's wearing a lacy black thong he did not buy at the store.

The last one is a little blurry, probably because he's laughing in the picture, but he's wearing the mesh shirt he decided not to buy, skin tight and revealing plenty. He must find time to work out among his supposedly hectic work schedule.

Kravitz sends the pictures and immediately chucks his phone across the room and lays on the floor.

_Oh_.

Oh, gosh. Oh no. Taako is gay. He’s _so_ gay. He’s going to die, this is it. Death has come for him in the form of a really really hot dude.

 **T:holy fucking shit my fella  
**  
**T: like, goddamn. w o w.  
**  
**T: i was SO right about thigh highs. 11/10. holy hell**

Kravitz hears his phone vibrate from across the room where he flung it. He counts to ten. He counts to ten again. He makes it to five the next time before he launches himself across the room to find it.

And promptly explodes. Taako...Taako thinks he's attractive. Very attractive. Statistically improbably attractive. How does he even. Respond.

 **K: Thanks** 🙂

When it takes a bit for Kravitz to respond, Taako worries he’s fucked up. He’s still a little worried he’s fucked up, but. He’ll take it, dead-eyed smiley face and all.

**T: seriously dude you look great! do you like them?**

That's easier to answer.

**K: I do. I wish I had an occasion to wear them for, but they're really nice work, Taako. They felt good, too.**

He smiles at his phone, absurdly pleased with how things have turned out. It's silly, but he almost wants to put the clothes back on and go take a few more shots...

Taako puts his head in his hands and muffles a screech. He’s so _cute_. Go to _jail_ , Kravitz, for illegal cuteness.

God, Lup is gonna drag him so fucking hard, but it’s probably worth it.

 **T: protip, if u ever need a confidence booster just wear em under your suit. nobody else will know but YOULL know how nice your legs look**  
  
**T: ooh also i should doll u up sometime! give you that smokey eye or smth**

Doll him up.

 _Doll him up._ This is how Kravitz dies.

**K: I would like that.😊**

He screams into his hands. He knows Taako meant it like make him pretty, which, honestly, is big on its own. But it's easy to get the strange sense that Taako can read him like an open book and knows the kinds of things he's into...

Taako _did_ mean makeup, but he can’t help thinking about it, about Kravitz under him, beautiful and sweet and all made up to Taako’s whims—can’t resist imagining the way he’d feel under his hands, how he’d tremble if Taako held him still with tentacles or claws.

He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. One thing at a time, Taako. Friendly banter first, collars and bondage _later_.

He hears the back door open distantly and curses. He’ll have to finish restocking later.

**T: hey sorry gotta go, got a thing w my sister**

**T: absolutely send me cute selfies as u take em tho, it’s good content xxx**

**K: Okay.**

Kravitz lays on the floor and thinks about what he's gotten himself into. Is this...flirting? Is he being flirted with? Maybe it's just Taako's tone, but this seems to go beyond a vested professional interest. And if it is...

Kravitz kicks his feet with excitement his body can't hold. He doesn't know what this is, but he likes it.

Later, after a shower, he puts the stockings on again with the one nice pair of shoes he does have. They're a bit scruffy, a strange thrift store find, but they're tall black platform boots with too many buckles and little chains. He can barely walk in them, but that doesn't stop him from laying on his bed and sticking his feet in the air and sending Taako a well-cropped picture.  
..... Hopefully not at some kind of family event.

Taako is about halfway through complaining about one of his (bad, rude, non-devilishly handsome) customers when his phone buzzes. Barry raises a silent eyebrow from across the restaurant booth, and Lup’s ears flick up in immediate interest. Shit.

Taako doesn’t usually _give_ people his number. His sister knows that, and he doesn’t want to add more fuel to the fire of her curiosity, but he can’t help it—he _really_ wants to know what Kravitz sent him.

“Uh, it’s a-a friend,” he says, fumbling for his phone. He gets about as far as realizing it’s a photo before shoving the phone almost violently back into his skirt pocket, praying his ears don’t go scarlet.

Kravitz waits for a reply. He waits and waits and waits, frowning, holding on to the other pictures he took. He doesn't want to distract him if he's busy. He just wanted to share.

Maybe it didn't load?

He sends a second one, and then a dumb anecdote about finding the boots and ha ha how difficult it is to find decent shoes. Then Taako cam at least reply to the text if the pictures won't show.

Kravitz then resolves to get off his phone before he makes an ass of himself.

When Lup goes to the restroom, Taako snatches his chance. Barry will definitely snitch, but it’ll take him longer to figure out what Taako’s doing than it would with Lup.

 **T: omg those are AMAZING”**  
  
**T: can’t talk long bc my brother in law is givin me a Look but hey. hey. 👏👌👀👀**

Kravitz isn't entirely sure what all that means but he knows it's pretty good. He also figures he should stop bothering him if he's at a family function. He shouldn't have to see that kind of thing if he's trying to have a nice dinner...

Guess he does have a family then. Maybe he just didn’t hear Kravitz's question earlier?

**K: Oh, alright. I'll stop bugging you then! Have a nice dinner!"**

**T: thx**

And then, a moment later, because Lup's not back yet and Barry hasn't commented on the flush in his ears,

**T: lemme know if u want payback when i get home, ive got tons of cute stuff ;)**

Payback?? What on earth could that mean?? And the winky face.... That has to mean something.

**K: Sure. I would like to see more of your style.**

Taako purses his lips at his phone. Style. He'll show him _style_.

"Taako, are you, uh, okay? You're making weird faces at your phone," Barry says mildly. Taako flips him off, but there's affection in the gesture; he puts his cell back in his pocket and flops forward across the table with a groan. He's probably getting sauce in his hair, but whatever.

" _Boys_ ," is all the explanation he can offer, and Barry pauses, then nods solemnly.

"Boys," he confirms.

"Boys," Lup says, sliding back into the booth. Fuck. "- _Spill_."

Kravitz waits for a long, long time for Taako's pictures. He ends up taking a bath (with his toy, okay) and then drinking wine in his pajamas to distract himself. It's not Taako's fault. He's having dinner with his family. Kravitz, a customer he has met twice, isn't more entitled to his time.

Doesn't mean he isn't moping a little, though.

Taako nearly forgets, in all honesty. By the time he gets home, the length of the day is properly weighing on him--his strongest impulse is to fall face-first into his pillow-nest mimic of a bed and pass out for fourteen hours. He does flop down into bed, admittedly, not even managing to kick his shoes off first. It's only when he finds himself shoving away a curious little monster that he snaps back awake.

 _Whoops_.

He shucks his outfit in a rush, replacing it with cute-but-not-his-cutest lingerie; gotta have something to work up to, after all. It's all in shimmery lavender, sheer stockings topped with lace that matches his (surprisingly comfortable--the woman who makes his fabrics is a fuckin' _savant_ ) panties. He falls back down into his bed, wiggling so that his top falls open over his belly cutely. The tentacles of his ever-evolving bed wind loosely around him, draping artfully over his body at his direction. He takes the picture with one, too, so that he can pose properly-one hand curled loosely on the satin of the pillow below his head, the other in a peace sign.

Fuck _yeah_ , take _that_ , cute boy. See how _you_ like negligee photos. Well, ideally, he'll like them a lot, but that's not the point.

Kravitz is tipsy when he gets Taako's picture. He just about enters cardiac arrest.

He saves it on his phone. He inspects every angle. He tries not to cry a little bit. Words. He's supposed to say words at this.

**K: Taako you are so beautiful and handsome and pretty and your outfit is so nice. I want to touch it and it is such a pleasant color did you make it? Your bed is strange. Do you always take pictures like this for your customers or are you flirting with me? Please be patient with me I am not sober sorry xxoxo Kravitz**

Boom. Words. He lays back on his bed and kicks his feet a little. Holy cow.

Holy shit.

 **T: omg**  
  
**T: YES im flirting with you, you adorable goober, youre handsome and charming.**  
  
**T: and thank you, i have a friend that makes the fabrics but i sewed this outfit yeah. the bed is an ongoing project**

Taako sends them rapid-fire, then covers his face and makes a noise like a teakettle. He’s so _stupid_ , Taako is gonna _die_.

His bed wraps around him comfortably, warm tendrils heavy against his chest, and he sighs. This has been such a weird fucking week.

 **K: Okay well"**  
  
**K: Okay"**  
  
Kravitz fumbles.

**K: Well I just wanted to make sure before I flirted back and made a fool of myself? Or more of a fool, and I didn't want you, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable at work because your job is sexy and I got the wrong idea or something which I'm sure happens to you often enough to be uncomfortable. But if you are flirting at me then I will start flirting back at you, if that is alright.**

Kravitz imagines biting his phone in half and not having to continue this conversation. It's tempting.

That’s....really sweet, actually. Taako is _doomed_.

 **T: u have my explicit permission to flirt at me, u have my ENCOURAGEMENT to flirt actually**  
  
**T: that being said if youre drunk you should get some rest dude!! it’s snooze o clock for taako too so**

**K: Okay good to know thank you I will. Try my best.**

Kravitz sucks in a deep breath and almost chokes on a laugh so loud it surprises him. He's so stupid. He's so bad at this. It could go really well anyway.

**K: Okay yes I will sleep soon enough I guess but I just wanted to. Say. When you threatened to doll me up I liked that and that would be cool and nice, not in the makeup way. Well also yes in the makeup way? You're welcome to do as you like to me honestly. But we can. Talk more about that. Eventually? Anyway goodnight :🖤 🦇**

**K: O damn thats a bat not a raven**

Kravitz immediately gets in bed and tries not to think about the lapse in judgement he just made or the myriad of consequences that could follow.

Taako squints at his screen. It is, indeed, a bat. Next to a goth heart. _Gods_ he's cute.

The concept of dolling him up in _not the makeup way_ is tantalizing. He strips off his outfit - cute as it is, he really doesn't enjoy wearing garters to bed - and falls back into his nest. He's tired, sure, but...fuck. That had to count as tacit permission to think about it, so he doesn't feel bad at all about letting the tentacles of his bed wrap around him more insistently, stroking him in a dozen ways he loves as he thinks of Kravitz, beautiful, sweet Kravitz, who was so eager to try anything he'd give him. He'd be so gorgeous spread out where Taako is now, done up all pretty just so Taako could ruin it.

Taako bites his lip. Is he being stupid? Probably. Will this end well? Maybe! Is it as good an excuse as any to get back into making modifications to his own body, which used to be his absolute _favorite_ thing to do? Probably!

Does he _really want_ to try Kravitz on for size, messy mortal feelings and all, even though it's been less than a week since he met him? Taako shivers.

"Signs point to yes," he mumbles, and flicks out the light.

Kravitz restrains himself for a few days. Almost three of them. The record of their conversation is embarrassing, but also, he has a desperate crush and it won't listen to reason.

He breaks the silence and messages Taako.

**K: What are you testing this week?**

There. That's neutral, right?

Taako wasn't. _Worried_. He's too cool for worrying. He was mildly curious about possibly maybe having fucked things up with Handsome Nice Man. Getting a text isn't a _relief_ , he's just-

Relieved. Taako sends back,

T: **That cloth thing u tried last time, a big ol...slime dragon......dude....(name pending), one with like, several mouths, uhh, and one thats like one of my standard ones but w/ suction cups  
**  
**T: i mean i have a shitload of unfinished stuff if you've got anything you Really Wanna Try, but those are the ones on my worktable Right Now**

**K: A slime dragon? Seriously? How does that work, exactly?**

Restraint is limited and he shoots back a reply almost instantly after he reads Taako's.

**T: its like..dragon shaped, but it's got no bones or organs or anything. one of the cool thing abt slimes is that they can like, grab u in a different way than plain tents. also, The People Demand Dragon Dick, i guess, thanks internet for making my job challenging**

Taako hums, smiling a little at how immediate Kravitz's response was. That's fair permission to be equally eager, right?

**K: Wow. I've seen some things on the internet, I guess, but I never really thought about...making it a reality? Then again, if they have the will and you have the way, why not, right? I might consider trying that one out. What's the strangest thing you've ever gotten a request for?**

Kravitz hopes he can distract from his own horny by probing Taako for more answers, but he'll probably zero in on it anyway....

Oh geez. Ohhhh geez.

**T: listen you cant hold me accountable for the things ive done for money. if you absolutely want to know google unbirthing but also dont do that**

**T: q for q, what do u WANT to try? you never answered me !!**

**K: Google fucking what now**

He's too unsettled to punctuate properly.

 **K: I am.....not doing that.  
**  
**K: I, um. I don't know. I guess there are a few things. I've never really thought too much about them, and it's weird to admit to another live person.**

 **T:good dont its bad. my eyes went to hell, and then the rest of me, becuase it took a month to make  
**  
**T: and hey dude this is literally my job! trust me ive seen weirder.**

Taako pauses, drumming his fingers on his phone.

**T: besides, i want u to have a good time! lemme cater 2 ur whims dude**

Kravitz is typing.

Kravitz erases it.

Kravitz is typing.

Kravitz erases it.

**K: Please don't tease me?**

Well, no promises on that account, but Taako thinks he knows what he means.

 **T: hand to god the only kind of teasing i will do is the sexy kind**  
  
**T: i defo wont make fun of you tho, handsome, i sleep in a tentacle nest and have absolutely no room to talk**

**K: Okay. So. I. So I do like tentacles. I mean, obviously. But like. I hadn't ever really thought about it that seriously until I found your shop? And now I'm really interested in a lot of those things. Um. Restraints. Like handcuffs? I kind of want to be held up...Or like. I like. I haven't been much for relationships. But I'd be kind of interested in a dom/sub thing...I like being told what to do? And. Other stuff.**

Okay, he has to walk away from his phone for a bit and come back. He knows, rationally, that Taako runs a Weird Sex Store and his admission that he wants to be told what to do, but the potential consequences for those words make him extrememely nervous. It's not just fishing for a relationship, right? It's not as if he's begging for Taako to pull his hair and command him to his knees. He's just sharing. Facts.

Taako’s mouth goes dry. He’d kind of guessed, but— _god_. Fuck. He wants so much, but it’s best to take it slow. Don’t scare him away.

 **T: boy howdy if its restraints+suspension u want i’ve got OPTIONS  
**  
**T: & as for d/s stuff obvi my critters arent really sentient so that’s a challenge, but. depending on ur comfort level. there’s options there too**

**T: they’re just a lil more hands on from yours truly**

Kravitz rereads Taako's messages over and over and over. And. Oh dear. If that implies what he thinks it implies.......doesn't it?

**K: Those would be good to try. I'll bet it would be a lot, but also there's more stuff I'm sure I'm just not thinking about. And then there's....separating fiction from reailty? And then there's your magic...I don't know. I like the idea of monsters and different textures and...I don't know. Aphrodisiacs aren't a real thing, are they? What are you into? You assuredly know more than I do. Give me a little direction.**

**T: anything is possible when science and magic collide so yes aphrodisiacs are a thing**

**T: i don’t SELL them though, seems like there’s too much room for shitty stuff**

He pauses, considering how far he should go. Ah well, fuck it, he’s in this deep—

 **T: as for taako, i’m into all sorts of stuff! i especially like things that can throw me around, but i don’t like being out of control so usually i’m the one telling my monsters exactly what to do when i’m involved...i like sensory deprivation a lot, when i’m in the mood for it, i’m SUPER into watching pretty dudes use my products  
**  
**T: i don’t watch people in the fitting room or anything that would be creepy BUT it is hot to think about  
**  
**T: also i just like overwhelming stuff. that’s why my whole fuckin bed is a mimic, absolutely fuckin COVER me in tentacles and i will be thrilled”**

**K: Oh right I'm so sorry I'm not like...a predator or anything I just thought it would be fun? For me I mean!! for me to use!**

Oh. Oh dear. Taako likes being in control. That's a cool fact.

Watching pretty dudes use his products. That's. Another cool fact. Taako is simply....amazing. Part of Kravitz wants desperately to impress Taako, to show off for him and show him he's not an idiot who doesn't know how to have fun. Which is problematic, because he's an idiot who doesn't know how to have fun.

**T: pfft, i didn’t think you were. bet you’d be cute if you did use them, though.**

_There’s_ a thought. Taako takes a moment to salivate at the concept of Kravitz fuck-drunk and desperate, all his polished, polite demeanor melted away in favor of lascivious abandon.

Taako is doomed.

WHAT DOES KRAVITZ EVEN RESPOND TO THAT. That's clear, right? That's a clear indication he wants to........watch Kravitz masturbate? Or. Help him? Or.

Or.

Kravitz's brain shorts out. He does something out of character. He takes (a tiny little bit) of initiative.

**K: Taako would you like to get dinner sometime with me.**

He follows up, afraid Taako will be confused;

**K: As a date**

Oh shit, the boy took a swing. Taako internally hands himself twenty bucks.

**T: sure, any ideas where?**

FUCK. FUCK??????? HE DIDN'T THINK THAT HARD AHEAD. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

**K: What kind of food do you like? Do you have any dietary restrictions?**

Taako snorts.

**T: im allergic to peanuts and arsenic**

**T: and tbh i just like food. i do have Opinions though bc former chef, but like, no particular fav or anything**

OH GOD HE TOTALLY FORGOT TAAKO WAS A CHEF. He scratches off half a dozen shit choices of his list. Pizza??? Can they do pizza?? Should he do something fancy?? He doesn’t have that much disposable income left this month after his.... recent purchases....

AAUGH. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

**K: So no Thai food or Cheesecake Factory. Got it. Well, maybe you should pick something. I don't know much about food and I'm a terrible cook, so I'm afraid you'd find my usual spots quite distasteful.**

Taako wonders, distantly, what shade of blush Kravitz has going on.

 **T: fuck dude i’m cool w garbage as long as it’s tasty honestly. and as long as they don’t commit any Food Crimes tm, which are largely arbitrary because bitchin is a hobby**  
  
**T: that being said i’m curious what u like!!! either we can go to a restaurant you’re a fan of oooor i can cook bc i don’t actually know what restaurants exist near u**

Kravitz can't figure out if that's amazing or terrifying. It seems weirdly intimate to do for a first date. But they've been doing everything out of order. God knows if they're at Taako's or Kravitz's place, well. Probably anything could happen. Is this a bad excuse to make that feel less desperate? Okay, maybe.

Does he want Taako to fuck him?

Yes.

**K: I would love for you to cook for us.**

To be honest, Taako doesn’t remember what is and isn’t normal for dating. He sends off a,

**T: sure thing ✨**

and then pauses. Hm.

**T: gimme a favorite kind of food, i wanna narrow down my options**

**K: I really like Italian. I'm a big fan of bread and cheese. I'm not allergic to anything, but I don't like olives or cherries. I'm a big coward when it comes to things that are still alive or still have eyes and such. I would do anything for a good dessert.**

So that's a yes. Which means the other part is probably a yes.

Kravitz wiggles his toes. This...this could be happening.

Oh god, this is happening. He hasn't been with a real person in years. How the fuck is he going to do this. Oh no.

 **T: fuck YEAH BREAD**  
  
**T: i do a pretty baller bruschetta, how do u feel abt figs and slash or caprese**

As for dessert, he’ll have to decide. He’ll think about it.

**K: I'm more interested in caprese, the whole thing with the bees turned me off of figs? But I'll try just about anything at least once. Especially if you make it."**

Oops. Sappy.

Uhhhh.

**K: Did you want me to get some test work done for you any time soon?**

**T: sure, if you wanna! swing by the shop sometime, i’ll setcha up  
**  
**T: & caprese it is! i can also do like, a cheese board +garlic bread. nothin huge but u know**

You know??? What does that mean?? Does that mean they'll be 'too busy' to eat?? Does it just mean they'll just eat a shit load of garlic bread? Should he come to the store before their date?? WHEN IS THEIR DATE.

**K: When would you like to have dinner?**

Shit, scheduling, Taako's greatest foe.

**T: i pretty much make my own schedule so when are u free?**

**T: btw, just come by the shop when we do dinner, my apt is above it.**

**K: What about Friday? I get to leave work earlier than usual. I could be ready by 7?** Is that too ambitious? Should he care?

Kravitz wants to stop worrying and let himself go. Maybe Taako can teach him how.

Taako, for his part, smiles. Eager boy. It’s endearing, and he really does want this to work.

Shit, he wants this to work. What has he done.

**T: sure thing handsome, swing on by**

Aw jeez. Aw jeez. Should he go by the store before then?? Is that weird? Should he just wait? Should he bring wine to their date? Would Taako judge him on wine?

**K: Sounds great! See you there!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're going "aw man, they didn't fuck in this one," you'll be excited to know that their date is coming up in chapter four and that not only earns the explicit tag but will also start to show you why this one earned a tag for long chapters. They get longer and hornier from here, folks,


	4. Trial Four--Taako's Custom Mimic Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz have their first date. It goes...really well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Taako and Kravitz finally get together day and no other holiday! Your comments are watering our crops and making our days fantastic! Keep up with the commentary!!!!!!! We want to know all of your emotions! We want to know your favorite lines!!!! We want to get fourteen emails from ao3 in rapid succession!!! Your attention is making us powerful....strong.......attractive...........fast......incredible.......

Friday comes, and with it the return of Taako's stupid anxiety; he changes outfits four times before seven pm, nervously swapping skirt for jeans for a different skirt, and finally settling on a cute tentacle-patterned dress he made himself ages ago. He slips on sheer black thigh-highs, perhaps being presumptuous, but. Can't seduce nerds if you ain't cute.

He finishes cooking early. It's not a problem for the cheese plate, but he casts a stasis spell over the bruschetta to keep it warm.

He's left the shop unlocked, a tiny monster watching the door intently in the back of his mind.

Kravitz has never been so anxious before. He's been on a few dates in years past, and he was never terribly good at them. The fact that he knows, with the least amount of uncertainty a guy like him can muster, that Taako is sexually interested in him, somehow makes it worse instead of better. He has the chance to fuck this up and ruin it, where if he wasn't sure, there would always be that possibility that the attraction just wasn't there. Taako has all but said "hey man i wanna jump ur bones" to Kravitz, and that's terrifying. He wants his bones to get jumped. The amount of ways he can ruin that is staggering.

Take the wine. What fucking goes with caprese? He ended up picking the prettiest label at the store. And then three more for backup. And then he got nervous about bringing four bottles of wine, and had to choose which ones to leave behind, and then get nervous that he would leave behind the one that would have been right, and then about bringing four bottles of wine to Taako's house like hey, nice to see you for literally the third time, let's get wasted. He picks two. He wears his thick coat to hide one in the pocket, and then decides that's stupid, because what if he falls on the way there and gets covered in wine? So he makes a late run to the dollar store and gets a bag that can hold two bottles of wine and one can be for drinking and the other a gift.

AND THE CLOTHES. Is wearing the clothes he bought at the shop too desperate? Should he have washed them, even though he only briefly tried them on? He picks the soft sweater and the skull tights, but hesitates at the bottoms. If he wears pants, the tights are a joke. If he wears Taako's skirt, is that silly? If he wears the one he bought on the internet, will Taako tease him about its lesser construction? Will it be weird to wear a skirt on public transportation? He certainly can't walk the whole way in his cute shoes. None of his work shoes go with the outfit. It's too cold for sandals, and Taako doesn't want to see his feet anyway.

He's a mess before he even gets there. He knocks on the door, hesitantly opens it, and calls out.

"Taako?"

Oops, no one is here. He can go home. It was fun while it lasted! Time to move to another state and never come back. It was inevitable anyway.

Taako's ears shoot upward. He skids into the shop proper, tugging on his hair to try and make it look like he didn't absolutely fucking run downstairs. Be cool, Taako. Oh no he's so cute. Oh no he's wearing clothes Taako made. _Oh no, he's gay._

"Hi, hey, come in, handsome," he says, "My apartment is just upstairs from my workshop." He pauses. Oh god. How does talking. "Uh, you-you look. Amazing."

Kravitz, who was already ready to turn around and disappear on the horizon, instantly flushes.

"I, um, yes, thanks. We, alright. Um- Here- Wine?" Kravitz foists over the dollar store bag, wincing as the two bottles clang inside. He should have dropped a third dollar on more tissue paper. He shifts nervously, using his other hand to pass at his skirt, embarrassed at the way static electricity is gluing it to his tights. He hasn't ever worn a skirt out of the house before and this seems like a poor way to start, looking like a vacuum sealed bag of blushing boy.

"Sh, um. Shall we? Upstairs, that is?"

 _Gods_ , Kravitz is too cute for this earth.

"Oooh, wine," Taako says, peering into the bag. "Oh dope, rosé, this'll be perfect. Here, c'mon upstairs."

FIRST TEST: PASSED. SECOND TEST: PROBABLY PASSED? Taako looked at his outfit and didn't say anything, and he's not that shy, so he probably would have said something if he was personally offended or rudely amused. Right?

Taako leads Kravitz through his workshop and into his apartment, tail flicking happily. Kravitz follows Taako, still pawing at his stupid fucking skirt. Come on. Relax. This will be.........fun? Nice? Intimidating? A fuck interview? ....................Taako’s tail is so cute. Kravitz wants to touch it.

Come on. Come on. Have a nice time, idiot. He takes a deep breath and hopes Taako doesn't think he's smelling him (although Taako and whatever it was he's been cooking both smell divine.)

Taako's apartment is cluttered, comfortably lived-in after many years of habitation. There are monsters on every surface, creatures and tentacles and funky little statues with too many eyes. Next to the bruschetta on the counter is a cool wood-burned statue Lup made him decades back.

He grabs the bruschetta, killing the stasis spell as he picks it up. The cheese plate (which also features sausage, because he's not an _animal_ ) is already in the middle of his worn wooden table, and he snags wine glasses with an errant tentacle as he passes the cabinet. Also on the table is a basket of warm, crusty bread and a stick of butter.

"Make yourself at home," he chirps, grinning.

"Oh my god, that smells amazing."

Taako wasn't kidding. That food...Kravitz hasn't even tasted it yet, but he knows for sure that Taako is the real deal and that he's blessed to receive this opportunity. He can't help but stare at everything. Despite the monsters, it's weirdly normal for what he might have expected out of Taako. He's not even sure what he expected, a strange, immortal monster masquerading as a small business owner? A regular if kinky person, who just happens to have been around longer than many popular countries?

A cute guy that baked and cooked for Kravitz because he wants to kiss him?

"Do you...want me to take my shoes off?" He wore his plain work shoes and he doesn't want to draw attention to them, but he doesn't want to be rude either.

Taako smiles, pouring out glasses of wine. He’s so fucking cute. “Yeah, sure, if you like! Get comfy, my dude.”

Taako sits, settling into one of several mismatched chairs. His is wooden, once painted purple in a shade that’s long since cracked and started to peel. “I hope you’re a fan of, like, olive oil and tomatoes,” he says.

"Yes, the ideal smoothie." Kravitz deadpans, carefully removing his shoes and placing them in a corner he will certainly forget exists. His stocking feet feel weirdly exposed on Taako's floor, and he pads softly back to the table and sits across from Taako. So this is it. A date. A real date. A real date, with Taako.

"I hope the wine is okay. I wasn't really sure. I don't know how much of the whole wine pairing thing was invented by the Olive Garden corporation, so. I. Picked the one with the nicest label?"

Taako is caught off-guard by the joke and chokes on a breath, giggling helplessly for a moment. He doesn’t have a—a _pretty_ laugh, precisely, it’s wheezing and graceless and kind of sonically unpleasant, but he can’t help it; this stupid boy, so embarrassed until now, making a damn tomato smoothie joke. _Cute_.

“If you really think about it marinara sauce is just a really bad smoothie,” he says as he recovers. “-And, I mean, wine pairing goes way back, but it’s not that big a thing really. This one looks good!”

Taako laughs at Kravitz’s joke and it’s the most perfect laugh he's ever heard and Kravitz is laughing too, can't even help himself, and his entire heart explodes and _‘Taako'_ is engraved on every shard. He's fucked, now.

Not that he wasn't ruined from the beginning.

"Good, um. I'm glad. Is there...anything you still need help with, or were we...good to go on the food front?"

“You’re adorable, but Taako’s all good. The food is _handled_. You just enjoy, your sparklin’ company is plenty for me.”

Taako’s ears twinge pink, and he takes a big bite of bruschetta to keep his big mouth busy before he gets too excited and scares the boy away.

Kravitz takes that as an excuse to eat and he serves himself some of everything, surprising himself with a moan when he bites into the bread. That's horribly embarrassing, but. It's just so good, is the thing. It's not as if it'll offend Taako.

It's all so good, is the problem. He stuffs his face and forgets to talk to Taako and he looks up after what his gut determines is an unsuitable amount of time with his mouth full to bursting and swallows it with the intent to apologize and ask him a medium personal but still appropriate question from the list of dating questions he does not have printed out in his pocket from a website that rhymes with muzz-deed. Except he almost chokes, and, not wanting to spit it across the table, struggles it down with a significant swig of wine.

Eyes watering, he looks at Taako in complete apology and embarrassment. _Does your bathroom have a window I can crawl out of?_ He wants to say. _It's okay if I plummet to the ground and break several bones._

Taako is delighted with Kravitz’ enthusiasm, and if his ears turn a shade darker at his reaction to the bread that’s between him and his circulatory system. And then Kravitz chokes, and it takes everything Taako has not to bust out laughing. It feels like that would be in bad form.

“You okay, babe? D’you want, like, a glass of water?”

Kravitz nods, rubbing his throat and sort of relieved Taako didn't laugh at him.

"Sorry, I. Sorry. It's. Your food is good, I, like it."

And the wine isn't half bad either, actually.

“I see that,” Taako laughs, grabbing a glass and filling it without looking with a couple tentacles. As he does, he perches his chin on one hand, grinning crookedly at Kravitz. “I’m glad. I love cooking for people, but I don’t get the opportunity to do it for anyone but Lup—uh, my sister, she’s wise to all my tricks—super often.”

Kravitz accepts the glass of water sheepishly and takes a long drink to hide his shame.

"Yeah? That's a shame, it's really good. She should appreciate getting to eat that sort of thing. Is she the one with your brother in law?"

There. Back on Taako. Good job. He nurses the water.

Taako rolls his eyes, but it’s obvious by the smile playing at his lips that he adores her. “Yeah, well, she’s always been great at cooking herself, so it’s not a big deal for her,” he says. “And, uh, yeah. His name’s Barry, he’s a solid dude. Lup’s my only sibling. Um, we’re twins.”

"Really? That's cool. I don't really have much family, so it must be pretty nice to have someone that close." He smiles a little, figuring people always say shit to Taako about twin stuff. "I'll bet she knows all your secrets."

What?? What does that even mean?? Why is he asserting Taako has secrets? He's so weird! UGH.

Taako snorts. “She definitely has the most blackmail material on me out of anybody, but an elf’s gotta keep _some_ things for... other kinds of folks.” At this, he grins up at Kravitz, eyes dark. “But yeah, she’s amazing. Best person I’ve ever known.”

"That's amazing. I can't imagine knowing anyone that well." Kravitz doesn't elaborate, and focuses on stacking bits of cheese on his plate. "Is she in the same sort of...business?"

Taako hums. “No, she’s a scientist,” he says. “Specializes in evocation magic an’ how it interacts with the world.” He pauses, then hooks Kravitz ‘ ankle with his. “—But enough about my sister, I want to think about the handsome guy sitting at my table. You said you were in the business of magical regulation, right? How did you get into that?”

Kravitz flushes and focuses on his cheese tower.

"The long version is complicated and boring, but the short version is I was in some trouble and made a stupid bet. I actually went to school for music."

Taako’s ears flick forward, interested. “Ooh, what do you play? I’m terrible at music, but I love it.” He steadfastly does _not_ make the _I’d love to make you sing_ joke that’s on the tip of his tongue.

"I wanted to be a conductor, but I can play quite a few instruments. Or at least I could. It's been a while, I'm not sure if I could play the flute to save my life now.” Kravitz smiles at Taako, more relaxed. His ears are so cute, and so is his interest. This....this isn't so bad. He VERY CAREFULLY refills his wine glass.

Taako smiles back, his cheeks flushing slightly more beneath his freckles. He ducks his head, masking infatuation through cheese. “That’s so cool, though,” he says. Avoids the obvious stick jokes that come with conducting, jesus _fuck_ his brain is a minefield, “I’d love to hear you play somethin’ sometime.”

"Really? It's sort of pathetic. Most of my life is about paperwork and investigations now. I haven't been part of a band in ages."

Kravitz swirls his wine before sipping it, belatedly realizing it probably makes him look like a vampire. He's so rusty at this. All of this.

"Do you know a lot of people in this city? It's been a while since I moved here and I still feel like I don't know anyone."

Is that revealing too much? I have no friends and I'm a lonely gay goth looking for some attention?

Taako smiles sheepishly. “Well, the store is displaced, so I don’t exist in any one city,” he says. Then, to be more honest, “...and I don’t really get out much. Sorta...sorta a homebody, actually.”

Kravitz is instantly relieved. Taako doesn't have any friends either.

"I totally understand. I get so tired from work I just want to come home and lay down. A lot of people I know don't get my whole....schtick at all. I'll bet you don’t exactly invite all your customers over for piles of cheese, yeah?"

Taako snorts. “I can’t believe you put your cheese in a pile,” he jokes, then says, “but. Yeah, usually I just stick to business and hang out with my sister when we’re free. I dunno what was so different about you, but I’m glad you felt the same.”

He hooks their ankles together again beneath the table, grinning down at his plate. “Sorry if that’s too, uh, _cheesy_ for you.”

Kravitz laughs so hard he snorts. It's a terrible joke, but it fills his chest with unreadable warmth and hope. He likes this. He likes Taako. He wants more.

"I don't know either, but. I think it's good. I think it's good for us."

Taako touching him under the table makes his skin feel electric, and he leans closer over their plates. He probably has terrible breath. Would Taako care? It was his fault.

It's a stupid impulse, but this is a date, and he's right there, and he's been wanting to for _ages_ , so-

Taako balances his weight on one hand on the table, leans forward, and kisses him.

Kravitz kisses back, somehow, like it's the most natural thing in the world. He has time to be flustered later. For now, though, all he can think of is how warm Taako is and how nice this feels and how deeply he wants more.

When he pulls back to breathe, he's lightheaded and has to steady himself with the table. He looks at Taako and just...laughs. They did that. They got here.

Taako laughs, too, breathless and delighted, and reaches across the table to catch Kravitz' hand in his.

"Nice," he breathes. Kravitz' skin is so soft, and his lips are just slightly cooler than Taako's, and he wants to kiss him forever.

"Very nice," Kravitz agrees. "I think I'm done eating cheese. For the night." He squeezes Taako's hand. "If you want to do. More of that."

"God do I _ever_ ," Taako says emphatically. "I, uh, I made panna cotta, but it won't suffer from a, a little more time in the fridge, if you want to. Redirect our energy for a bit."

"Yes- okay- yes-" Kravitz stands all at once, pushing his chair back. Taako wants him. This is crazy. He wants this so bad and then they'll also get dessert?? Perfect.

Taako stands as well, rounding the table in an instant and tugging Kravitz into another kiss with a hand on his cheek. His other hand curls in his sweater and his tail winds around his leg, because fuck it, Kravitz is eager for this so Taako's not about to mask how desperate he is for every point of contact he can get.

Kravitz isn't exactly sure how his is going to shake out, but it doesn't matter. He's kissing Taako in a second. He wants Taako to get hold of him and lead him through this, tell him what to do and give the thrill in his bloodstream somewhere to rush. He can't hardly breathe, but he forgets why that's so important compared to the way Taako feels under his lips.

Taako breaks the kiss, shifting his hand to Kravitz' hair.

"Wanna take it to my room?" he whispers, ears perked up and attentive, the soft fluff of his tail batting against Kravitz' leg.

"Uhhhhhhhhh yes." Taako's touching his hair. Does he know? Kravitz doesn't remember what all he's told Taako, but. Oh boy. This man is going to take him apart. The way his tights are rubbing at his thighs is starting to make him feel some type of way.

Taako takes his hand, tugging him onward.

His bedroom is big and cluttered, full of soft fabrics that may well be mimics and plants that aren't but that _are_ unrecognizable. Taako doesn't really give him time to look around, though, more preoccupied with falling down into his nest of a bed and tugging Kravitz down on top of him and into another kiss.

Kravitz is immediately disoriented, but he has Taako to cling to. The picture of his bed from before makes sense now, at least a little bit, because it's _moving_. It's like a waterbed with intention, moving to receive them like it was waiting and ready. And Kravitz is on top of Taako, in his arms, and part of him hopes he isn't squishing Taako, but the rest of him is singing ancient hymns in celebration of finally getting on with it and asking Taako out.

Taako clicks his tongue to keep the tentacles from overwhelming Kravitz. He pulls back to murmur, "Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Taako is so powerful, Kravitz thinks, dimly impressed. "Am I squishing you?"

He's already out of breath and out of his element but he is so. Ready for _something_ to happen.

"Mmm, you're fine, but if you wanna flip over we can," Taako purrs. He noses at Kravitz' neck, pressing little open-mouthed kisses against his jaw as he tangles his hands in Kravitz' hair. "You're so pretty, I've been wantin' to get my mouth on you since I met you."

"Oh my god, fuck, okay, oh boy." Kravitz forgets to move, freezing as Taako kisses him. He's beautiful. He's beautiful and here in Taako's bed and Taako's hands are in his hair and okay he can do this.

"Holy shit, okay, I. Cool."

Terrible response, but holy shit. He sounds like an idiot.

Taako laughs. "You okay, babe? Wanna take a sec? 'Cause I can put this on hold if you wanna catch your breath. I wanna make you feel good, not break you."

Yet. At some point he wants to take him apart until he can't think, but that's not a first-date kind of thing.

"Yeah, I, okay, alright." Kravitz flops over to lay by Taako's side.

"What exactly did you do to this bed?"

Taako laughs sheepishly, sitting up. "Well, it's really more of a pile of pillows I turned into several fused mimics," he says. "Check this out."

He hums, and several of the soft things around him shift and warp, stretching into thick tendrils that wrap around him in a practiced, familiar sort of way. One pokes at Kravitz curiously, but on the whole Taako makes sure they leave him alone till he's certain Kravitz will be okay with it.

"That's amazing..." Kravitz reaches out and pets one carefully. "You must have put a lot of work into this..."

Taako looks so, so good wrapped up in tendrils. Kravitz doesn't know if he wants to be in his place or if he wants the tendrils to keep him there while he makes Taako sing.

"Wow..." is all he can manage.

“It’s been a work in progress for years,” Taako admits, smiling. The tentacle Kravitz pet curls against his hand, affectionate. It’s reflective of how Taako himself feels, but he doesn’t have to _admit_ that.

“So,” Taako says. He leans forward, trailing his hand over Kravitz’ cheek and down his neck. “Now that I’ve got you in my nefarious clutches, what should I do with you? You’re too handsome, it gives me too many ideas, it’s rude.” He’s joking, of course, but he is curious as to what will come to Kravitz’ mind. He really is too cute for words.

"Oh? I'm sorry for being...so handsome?" Kravitz makes a weird sheepish, apologetic smile, but he also knows he's not unattractive.

"Well, maybe we can start like this." Kravitz takes his sweater off and folds it before dropping it on Taako's floor, revealing his bare chest. It's a bold move and for a brief moment he's worried he'll freeze, but he figures Taako can help him out in that department.

"And then, Mister Nefarious, you can tell me what to do from there."

This smile is a lot less apology and a lot more challenge. He doesn't have an itemized list of what he wants, but he thinks he knows how to get himself there.

Taako is so gay, holy shit. He trails a hand down Kravitz' chest just because he _can_ , then leans forward to catch him in another kiss.

"My evil plans involve a lot of smooching," Taako says when he pulls back, a crooked grin on his face. "Also, uh, deeeeeeeefinitely wanna suck your dick, if that's okay. Don't really have a lot of thoughts past that, I'm open to suggestions here."

Kravitz comes away breathless and excited. "You are absolutely welcome to do that, no questions asked. And I would be happy to return the favor however you like. It's...actually something I'm rather good at."

He could fall in love with that crooked grin and never look back. It would be so easy.

"We can make the rest up as we go."

Taako leans in to kiss the corner of his lip, still smiling like an absolute goober. “Mm, I look forward to it,” he purrs.

He sits up, then, loathe as he is to stop touching Kravitz, and tugs his dress off over his head. Sure, he’s not the one in the most immediate need of getting nude, but his thigh highs/panties combo looks fuckin’ _delicious_ , and he feels like Kravitz will appreciate it.

"Wow, Taako, you- wow." Kravitz wants that lingerie. Any lingerie would be good, but Taako looks stellar, like he was all set up and waiting for Kravitz like this. Like a venus fly trap ready to catch himself a delicious boy snack, and honestly, Kravitz is walking right into it.

"Do you sell those?" Whoops. Maybe the wrong thing to say. "Because, damn." Okay.

Taako snickers, snapping the elastic over his hip cheekily. "I don't know if I carry this specific kind, but yeah, I sell somethin' similar," he says. "And thank you."

Then he shuts up, because there's so much Kravitz chest left to explore; he nudges him until he's settled leaned back against the pillows and Taako's all but in his lap with his hands on his skin and a knee between his thighs, nipping lightly at his neck.

"What's the feelin' on biting," Taako murmurs, hand skimming down his chest. "Yes, no, only where nobody'll see...?"

"The- ah- third one-" Kravitz is so, so weak. Taako is just going right for this. He's beautiful. He's perfect and beautiful.

Kravitz kisses him, running his hands along Taako's skin, warm and excited. He's so close and easy to get to it almost feels like a dream, but. He has a feeling Taako is more creative than his dreams.

Taako returns the kiss happily; Kravitz is soft and gentle and his hands are _wonderful_ , his humanoid touch after so long alone being enough to thrill him. Not knowing every movement before it happens is thrilling, too, and he hums happily as he breaks the kiss, his tail flicking in delight.

He slides down Kravitz’ torso, biting a mark on his collarbone where his fancy-boy shirts will cover it. His teeth are sharp, but he’s careful, and the mark it leaves is _very_ pretty.

“You can touch me however you like, you know,” Taako murmurs, skimming his hand down to his hip. “My ears are sensitive, so be careful with them, but everything else is fair game. My hair especially.” He pauses, grinning. “I’m just letting you know ‘cause my mouth is gonna be busy in a sec here.”

"Oh. Well. Yes. Okay."

Full permission to touch him. Declaration of getting ready to blow him at the drop of a hat. Sensitive ears...hair pulling...touching him all over, leaving bite marks and sending his skin tingling like nothing he's ever experienced, all on top of this live tentacle experience platform....

Kravitz spreads his legs obediently, watching Taako's tantalizing descent.

"Yes, alright, very- go ahead, thank you?"

Taako laughs despite himself, pausing for a moment to press his face against Kravitz' chest affectionately.

"You're sweet," he says. He pushes Kravitz' skirt up, bunching it around his hips rather than actually taking it off (it's _so_ cute), and shifts down the bed to kneel between his legs. Taako grins up at him for a second and drags his hand down the rough texture of his tights before shooting him a wink and ducking his head, mouthing at him through the layers of lace.

Kravitz flushes dramatically and inhales, not entirely sure how to react. He just bought those. But that's one of the hottest things he's ever seen in real life, let alone experienced. He's weirdly out of body at the moment. This is happening to him. This is happening with his involvement, essentially because he asked for it. Taako likes him.

Taako likes Kravitz enough to put his mouth on Kravitz's genitals. That's all it comes down to, isn't it?

"Oh my god. Yes, please-" And like that, he's already begging. Taako will figure that out though, won't he? Hopefully he likes it. He likes being in control, so he probably wants to turn Kravitz into putty in his hands.... does he know just how easy it'll be?

Taako hums assent, teasing him through his tights for another moment before pulling back with a wicked sort of grin. "Definitely diggin' the positive feedback there, babe," he purrs, then indicates to the tentacles on the bed to tug his tights and underwear off-they're supremely adorable, and he's delighted, but he's also _impatient_. His bed hasn't quite finished the work of disrobing Kravitz when Taako dips back down, licking a long stripe up his cock with an animalistic little trill. His ears twitch happily.

"Right, okay, yes, um. Good- Fuck- Good job-"

Kravitz's legs squirm and tangle with his feet still stuck in the tights, and he hooks them behind Taako for lack of something better to do with them. He reaches for Taako's head, worries about coming on too strong or making him uncomfortable, but then he remembers that Taako actually did tell him to go for it, and he feels for Taako's hair. It's so lovely. He'd really enjoy braiding it, untangling it after a shower all sweet smelling, laying on his lap....

Kravitz, now is the time to be horny, not domestic.

He grips Taako's hair and hopes that's okay, because it feels so, so good.

Taako moans out loud at the grip on his hair, shivering. He mumbles, “Y-yeah, that’s. Yeah.”

And then he doesn’t say anything, because his mouth is otherwise occupied. He bobs his head, pulling down against the grip on his hair, and focuses on using his tongue to pull every noise he can from the boy in his bed, trying to memorize every hitch of breath.

Kravitz's breath catches, and then he's fucked. Taako is perfect and beautiful and talented and he feels so good. Even though Kravitz's hands are on his head, it's clear who's leading this charge, and what his goal is, because Kravitz can't contain a whole host of stupid and embarrassing noises, further prompted by the touch of the bed mimics, holding him in place and wrapping around him in a weirdly warm and comforting way. One holds him by the waist right where Taako needs him and it dimly occurs to Kravitz, making a noise like a bird hit by a windshield wiper, that Taako is telling those mimics what to do, and that he's surrounded by Taako's manifested will. He shivers.

"Perfect- you're- Taako- you're so powerful- amazing- I-" Kravitz nearly stuffs his own fist in his mouth.

Taako opens his eyes, looking up at Kravitz through his lashes. His pupils are blown wide and round instead of their usual slits, a deep flush coloring his freckled face. He lets the bed do what it wants, mostly, but he knows Kravitz is _eager_ , so he winds them around him tighter, tugging at him in wordless encouragement to take what he wants.

The praise makes him moan again, muffled but agreeable. He sort of wants to grab Kravitz _properly_ , lift him up and hold him in place, but he doesn't want to do that without asking, and no tempting fantasy will get him to move enough to talk for a bit here.

Kravitz doesn't want to embarrass himself, but. It's been awhile since another living being touched him. He's a sensitive guy, and this is way more than he's had in about............ever. It's also hitting vastly more of his buttons than any other real person he's been with, and they've barely gotten started. He doesn't want it to be over so soon, but. Taako knows what the fuck he's doing.

Kravitz bites his lip and tries to shift himself, barely holding on. He takes deep breaths, and grips Taako by his perfect hair and tries to prolong the experience because he doesn't want it to be over yet. He doesn't want this dream to end.

Taako bobs his head. If he wasn't otherwise occupied he'd be absolutely grinning, but he settles for humming around Kravitz and swirling his tongue, his tail flicking happily behind him. He grinds the heel of his palm against his own panties just to get some relief; the noises Kravitz is making and the heavy feel of him on his tongue is going straight to his--

Well. Anyway. He's flattered by how quickly Kravitz has dissolved into helpless noises and twitching hips, pleased to have caused it; he reaches up to catch Kravitz' free hand in his, squeezing in what could charitably be considered a comforting way instead of just a horny-for-skin-to-skin-contact one.

It's all over when Taako takes his hand. Kravitz would do just about anything to make that last forever. Taako lets off his fireworks finale and Kravitz is finished. He comes like Taako had demanded it, a soft little noise escaping him as he relaxes his grip on Taako's hair. He instantly feels the urge to apologize for it going so quickly, but he forgets what language he ought to be using and loses track of his tongue entirely.

"Wow," he manages, through great effort.

Taako swallows, working him through it, then pulls off with a pleased little hum. He licks his lips and grins, squeezing Kravitz’ hand again. “Yeah? Good?”

"Really good, very good Taako--good. Nice job. You. Wow." Kravitz props himself up and stares at Taako who Just Did That. "I- sorry- that was fast- I just-"

Kravitz pushes his hair back and laughs.

"Wow?"

Taako grins cheekily. "Damn _right_ wow, I'm fucking great at that," he says, then ducks forward to kiss him. " _Loved_ the hair pulling, babe, thanks for listening on that one. If I'm bein' honest any kind of hair touching is great for Taako."

"Me too!" Kravitz blurts, completely enamored with the right-after kiss and the way Taako refers to himself in third person. "It- mm, so good. I mean, I don't usually- you know, it's hard to get a chance to- Can I return the favor? Please?" And not just out of desperate politeness either. He cannot wait to make cool and collected Taako squirm.

“Yeah, of course,” Taako breathes. “Um, uh, heads up, I don’t exactly have anything—traditional—going on down there, uh, just. As a warning.”

He rolls off of Kravitz, wiggling out of his panties and leaving his thigh-highs on. Under the lace is a small nest of tendrils, emerging from what kind of looks like a labia. He hums and they twist together, sort of melding into one thick tentacle. “Um, yeah. I hope that’s, uh, okay.”

"Woah," Kravitz says. Soft. Amazed. "That's amazing."

Kravitz reaches carefully to touch it, to trace the tentacle from tip to source. It's beautiful. He wonders if it was....factory preset, or if Taako made it himself. Surely an immortal tentacle salesman would be capable of either. In fact, gods knew what Taako actually is or where he had come from. Is Kravitz fucking an alien?

That's so hot.

"Do you still want me to put my mouth on it?" He looks at Taako, sort of baffled, sort of thrilled. He hopes his skills can translate here.

Taako shudders at the touch, trying to recover by turning his gasp into a laugh. "Yeah, yes, absolutely I want you to do that," he says breathlessly. "D'you have- do you want me to touch your hair or anything? I don't wanna do something you don't like."

"No, that's. Very much fine, go ahead. You can do. Just about whatever you want to me. Um. I don't like, I don't like just being hit or slapped or whatever? But. Yeah. You can, yeah."

Kravitz moves into a better position to see Taako's goods and admires them a little more closely.

"Amazing," he repeats. "Is, um. Is there anything you don't want me to do?"

"I mean, don't bite me or anything, but otherwise nope, you're good," Taako says. The tendril, separate from any intention, wiggles hello.

"Um, I've got-well, you'll see, probably, but what I have is closer to a vagina than a, uh, a human dick, just use your better judgement?" He reaches down to stroke Kravitz' face, gently tucking his hair behind his ear. "You're gorgeous, doll, so good for me."

Kravitz whimpers pathetically, almost melting on the spot.

"Y-yes, um. Yes. Okay."

He forgets how to use his limbs correctly, but with Taako so close, he finds his mark alright. Tentative, but intensely motivated by the praise Taako must have surgically removed from his horniest subconscious, he licks the tendril, taking some of it into his mouth. He doesn't usually have much of a gag reflex, but the movement is strange. He likes it. For support, he squeezes Taako's thighs, feeling where the stockings stop and the softness of Taako begins.

Taako takes a little fluttering breath, curling over Kravitz' head and tangling both hands in his hair.

" _Good_ , that's good," he murmurs, "You're beautiful, Kravitz."

Taako cards one hand through his hair soothingly, the other still holding tight as an anchor. He has plenty of creations that can recreate the feeling of a mouth, but there's something about having a _person_ in his lap, so eager to please, that makes something instinctive and hungry inside of him purr. Taako curls his tail loosely around Kravitz' neck, the soft tuft batting at his shoulder.

Kravitz would do anything if Taako asked him to, at this point, up to and potentially including hiding a body. But he'll start with the task at hand, or task at mouth, rather, and hope it never comes to that extreme because he knows for a fact that his weak resolve would crumble. He goes down as far as he can manage, which is quite a bit, thank you very much, and licks at the base of Taako, sensitive and lovely. He takes a page out of Taako's book, then, and bobs his head, nice and slow, leaving space for the tendril to move a bit, which is so strange and so, so cool. He glances up at Taako to see if he's doing alright.

The part of the tendril at the base where it meets his skin is _incredibly_ sensitive, and the noise he makes when Kravitz reaches it is involuntary and desperate. He tries to keep his dick still, because he doesn’t want Kravitz to gag, but the rest of him twitches hard and shakes, drawn-out and wanting.

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Taako says. “ _Good_ boy, that’s—that feels amazing, you’re doing so well, babe. Use your, mmh— use your fingers before my bed tries to fuck me, I’m not sure how great my control’s gonna be if you keep that up.”

His hips twitch hard when Kravitz meets his eye, his ears flushed dark with blood.

Kravitz moans desperately around Taako, absolutely weak to the praise. He barely knows Taako and the guy already completely has his number. He moans even louder when Taako thrusts into his mouth, muffled around him.

 _Yes, sir_ , he thinks, pulling off to lick his fingers and going right back down, teasing the grooves where the tendrils meet with his tongue for good measure. He imagines all that _in him_ and shivers.

His fingers tease the base at first, careful and hesitant, but he slips two inside and savors Taako's reaction.

Taako arches his back at the tease, gasping, and _jolts_ when Kravitz presses into him, his legs shaking. “ _Fuck_ , fuck, okay, that’s good, you’re doing so well.”

He tightens the fingers he has in Kravitz’ hair, his other hand coming up to tug on his own and ground him.

“Harder,” Taako gasps, and it would almost be an order if he didn’t sound so wrecked. “Feels good, you’re _so_ good, so pretty down there. Next chance I get I want it to be your cock in me instead of your hands-that sound good to you, gorgeous?”

Kravitz fights not to nod and makes a muffled affirmative sound instead. He can go harder. He can do anything Taako wants of him. He takes Taako's tendril all the way down and moves his head, fucking his fingers into Taako with a sort-of matched rhythm. He's so warm. He's so warm and good and needs Kravitz and Kravitz would give him anything to make him happy and he can't wait for that to be his cock. He can't wait for Taako to order him around and take what he likes and spoil him rotten....

If they end up doing this again?

"Oh-oh god, fuck, _Kravitz_ ," Taako gasps, yanking on his own ear hard. He wants to prolong this, wants to keep this beautiful boy to himself as long as possible, but between the crook of his fingers and the mouth on his tentacle he absolutely can't, and he comes with a desperate whine.

He flops back against the pillows, easing up on his grip in Kravitz' hair and stroking his head soothingly, smoothing down what he'd messed up. He's breathing hard, his heart rabbit-quick, and there's something endlessly funny about how he's still wearing his stockings, about how he never actually took Kravitz' skirt off. He giggles drunkenly and says, again, perhaps redundantly, "You're so _good_."

Kravitz pulls back. He looks at Taako, so completely spent, and smiles so fondly he has to hide his face against Taako's soft thigh. He can't help what that does to him. He wants to be _good_ for Taako more than anything, and the way he says it melts his insides and leaves him with hearts in his eyes. He feels silly about it, but he wants so desperately for Taako to pet his hair and hold him close and call him _his_.

"Do you want to, maybe, if, see, maybe we could." He's babbling, not making a lot of sense, but the possibility of never having this again hangs in the air and he has to know. "Do you. Want to do this. Again sometime."

“Oh my god you absolute goober,” Taako laughs, tugging at him, masking his relief. “Of course we can do this again. Depending on the _this_ we can do it again this _evening_. Now get up here and smooch me this instant.”

"Yes, sir." Kravitz pushes himself up on the bed and kisses Taako, so relieved he feels like his bones are going to melt. He worries too much. It was going well, and now it can keep going well. He feels so silly, worrying about it, especially when he's agreed to be Taako's product tester, but. He had to know.

He winds his hands in Taako's hair and kisses him, happy and messy and full of something that comes before love. Affection? Hope? He won't jinx it. He'll use his tongue in other ways.

Taako’s breath stutters at _sir_ , struck by the obedience, but then it’s pushed solidly aside in his mind by hands in his hair and lips against his. He hums, wrapping his arms around him to hold Kravitz close, and kisses back for all he’s worth. It’s slower, now, syrupy and fond rather than desperate and panting.

“You’re wonderful,” Taako breathes, the words puffs of air against Kravitz’ lips. Between kisses he keeps going, murmuring praise and other such nonsense as it comes to him. Kravitz is so easy to be around, so sweet and fun and eager, and Taako wants to keep him. It’s a dangerous impulse, but he’s not known for his self-preservation instinct.

Taako kisses Kravitz’s forehead, allowing himself to drift for a little bit, warm and safe with a handsome fella in his arms. After a few minutes, though, he stretches languidly and makes a delighted mrr noise.

Kravitz snuggles down with him, dimly aware how easy it would be to fall asleep here. How nice and strange it would be to sleep with another person. The oddness of the situation strikes him, but so does a new kind of familiarity, safety, trust. He would trust Taako to make him happy, at least for a little while.

"You're not so bad yourself."


	5. Trial Five--A Variety of Bath Tentacles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The excellent date continues. Kravitz is spending the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of the incredible comments!! We love seeing how you feel about our hard work and we eat them for power~!!
> 
> Edit: Tagging  
> In this fic, Taako has both phallic tentacles and basically a vulva.   
> Oral sex includes "vaginal" fingering.

“Hey, you still want panna cotta?”

"Fuck yes I do," Kravitz says, soft and warm and easy. He yawns, stretching in echo of Taako. This is the dream. "I might have to wait for my bones to come back, though..."

“Oh no, your bones,” Taako drawls. “I’ve hidden them somewhere and you have to solve dumb riddles to find them, sorry.”

He doesn’t actually want to get up. He’s warm and comfortable and has a gorgeous nerd next to him that just fucked him silly, but. He also _did_ promise dessert, and he makes a delightful fucking panna cotta. He yawns. “Wanna take a shower or anything? I have a robe you can borrow if you don’t wanna get dressed again just yet.”

"A robe sounds good. I should probably get my skirt off before I ruin it... And I don't just want to walk around your place all boneless and buck-ass naked."

Kravitz already feels a lot more confident with Taako, and he's starting to get to know him. He's fun, and clever, and crafty. And beautiful.

"Maybe dessert, then shower? You know, I don't think I've ever had panna cotta before."

“Mm, okay! Hang on, get your skirt off while I grab one. And I hope you like it. You deserve a treat.” Taako hops out of bed, stretching, then drops a kiss on Kravitz’s forehead. “Hang tight, cutie.”

Taako doesn’t seem to mind his own state of undress overmuch, wandering into his bathroom quite comfortably.

Kravitz smiles to himself and undoes his skirt, slipping it off as carefully as he can manage. He kicks off his tangled tights and his panties, barely hanging around his ankles, and stares at Taako's ceiling. That really just happened. It could happen again. He really, really wants it to. And the kiss...that was just bonus.

This is.........happiness? It's as nice as it is unfamiliar.

Taako flits back in with a puffy bathrobe over his elbow and a loose silk robe around his shoulders, still flushed and grinning. His ears darken a shade as he takes in Kravitz finally naked in his bed, beautiful and smiling and _comfortable_ for once. He clears his throat and tosses him the robe before he can decide that dessert is unimportant and just suck his dick again.

"I hope you'll like it," he says. He grabs a hairbrush off his dresser for something to do with his hands, dragging it through his hair distractedly. "The, uh, the food, not the robe, I _know_ the robe is plush as hell."

"I'm sure it'll be amazing." Kravitz grins cheekily at Taako and sits up enough to put the robe on, and Taako is right, it's amazing, but that's not what he meant. "Was it hard to make? I hate if I made you spend a long time on it." He's speaking words, but all he can think about is Taako's hair and messing it right back up again. He shakes his head to clear it and gets up, tying the robe more effectively and trying to redirect his brain. Thank god they don't work together, because Kravitz would be useless. Is it inappropriate to just go kiss Taako? Is that something he can do? Would Taako like it? It's not as if they are an _item_. Right? Will they even be? Is that a possibility? He's never done Casual Sex before. What are the rules? Is there a guidebook?

Taako shrugs, smiling. “It was fun, don’t worry about it.”

He notices Kravitz staring, but doesn’t mention it. Taako _does_ wonder what it is he’s thinking about, but most of what _Taako’s_ thinking about has to do with smooching him silly, so he decides to act on it. He tugs him in for another, softer kiss, then pulls back.

Kravitz is so relieved that Taako makes the first move that he kisses back and then kisses Taako again when he moves away. He takes Taako's hand and squeezes it, following him cheerfully and obediently towards dessert as Taako shows him toward the kitchen.

"What's your favorite sort of thing to cook, Taako?"

That seems like a decent enough conversation starter when all he wants to do with his lips is make Taako's heartbeat go wild.

Taako laces their fingers together, pulling the dessert out of the fridge with a disembodied tentacle positioned near it for that express purpose. He hums. “I don’t really have a _favorite_ , per se, but I guess, if I had to pick...macarons? They’re pretty, and also tasty.”

"The little cookies? I don't think I've ever had those either." This is so nice!!!! Kravitz can imagine an alternate universe where he gets to keep this, becoming Taako's boyfriend and getting spoiled and fed and pampered. He wouldn't want to jinx it by bringing it up, but. What if?

“I’ll make some for you sometime,” Taako says, squeezing their joined hands.

He pours a strawberry sauce over the panna cotta with his free hand, a tentacle dropping a fork next to Kravitz. “I hope you like cream, this stuff is like... a weird flan cheesecake thing. It’s good!”

"Oh, interesting!" Not wanting to give up his Taako hand, Kravitz slowly and carefully tries a bite with his non-dominant hand, managing to drop strawberry sauce down his naked chest. "Aw fuck..." He tries again and takes a bite, eyes widening in surprise and satisfaction. "I...don't know what I expected, but. Wow."

Taako laughs. He really is thrilled—the last time anyone appreciated his cooking this openly was decades ago now, and sure, he knows he’s the best, but it’s always nice to get confirmation.

“I’m glad you like it, babe,” he says.

"It's really good," Kravitz insists. And eats some more. And registers that Taako called him babe, and blushes, and looks anywhere but at Taako. "You did a really nice job."

“Natch,” Taako says, but it’s clear by the set of his lips that he’s pleased. He puts his other hand on Kravitz’s, lifting it up to hold with both of his, and presses it to his lips. Sure, it might make Kravitz spontaneously combust, but it’s been so _long_ and he just can’t help it, in his heart of hearts he’s still all about all that ridiculous courtship nonsense.

Kravitz looks well on his way to fulfilling that combustion, stammering his way through a thank you and trying to work out the math for kissing him back like that. But oh, wow. Wow. He's really mushy for that shit. He would let Taako woo him all fucking day.

“Anyway, shower next,” Taako says, not relinquishing the hand, “and then—um, if you want to stay the night...? If you’ve got stuff to do tomorrow no worries, just!” His ears flick. “I’m. Having a nice time.”

"Right- um- shower- um- do you- want to go first- or-Well- see- I don't have...any plans, I don't, have much of a social life I don't know why I'm telling you this. But. Me. Also. Good time. Yes."

Taako's Krav Combustion Instinct™ is _spot fucking on,_ apparently. Nice.

"Good time indeed," he murmurs. "C'mere."

He tangles their fingers together, sweeping his thumb over soft skin, and smiles. "My shower's big. Well, it's a bath, but it does- uh, it does have a shower also, we could do either? If that was something you'd like. To share, I mean." Taako’s ears are red. He has no idea why, usually he just has one night stands and he's both much more blatant and much less flustered than this.

"Shower? Together? Is that...I don't know, safe?" Kravitz scrambles to cover himself. "I mean-- it sounds very nice, but. I can be patient-- I mean I've always kind of wanted to but I don't want us to break anything--"

Kravitz stops himself before he goes too overfar, and notices that Taako's ears are red. Is he embarrassed too? That's so....fucking validating. His heart swells with affection.

Taako laughs. “We’ll be okay, I have enough creatures literally everywhere in my home that even on the off-chance we fall over or something we’ll be fine. That being said, we could also rinse off real quick and then take a proper bath...?”

"A bath does sound really nice..." Kravitz runs a hand through his hair and smiles to himself. "You wouldn't happen to be a bath products snob, would you?"

“I don’t know about _snob_ , but I do have something of a collection,” Taako says teasingly. “What’s your favorite?”

He tugs Kravitz to his feet the moment he finishes the dessert Taako made for him, using the hand not wound through his to gently thread his fingers through the hair at the back of his head and pull him down into a kiss. It’s much softer than the previous ones, tender and slow.

Kravitz obediently kisses back, losing his entire train of thought and the track it came in on. It's so good, is the thing, and going from a guy who got roughly zero kisses on the regular to being kissed over and over again at will is turning his brain into pudding.

"Yeah," he manages, hoping it counts as a reply since he super doesn't remember the question, and goes back in for another soft, overwhelming, angelic choir-activating kiss. He could do this, just this, all day.

Taako indulges for a moment, enjoying the softness of lips against his, before playfully tugging his hair to break the kiss.

“I haven’t heard of the _yeah_ brand of bath products,” he murmurs. His breath is warm against Kravitz’s face. “Wanna get a lil’ more specific with me, there?”

"Um. Right." Kravitz's brain shorts out at the tug, the demand. Fuck, he's so weak for Taako.

"Um." Scrambling now, to remember nouns and adjectives and verbs. "I...um. I don't know if you'll have anything for my hair, but I'm a sucker for things that smell nice. And bath things...bubble bath and bath bombs...That sort of thing. That's usually what I treated myself with. Before I met you."

“I can work with that,” Taako says. Well, purrs. He’s having absolutely too much fun with this boy. Just to tease him, he pulls his head back a little farther, leaning in to scrape teeth harmlessly against his pulse point. “Mm, bath bombs are fun. C’mon, this way.”

"Youuuuu...... got it." FUCK. Taako has gotten under his skin. He can hear his heart pounding in his ears so loudly Taako can probably hear it too. Maybe that's what he wanted. Maybe he's trying to give Kravitz a coronary.

Kravitz might let him.

He certainly lets Taako drag him to the bathroom.

Taako's bathroom is the least rustic room in his apartment; it's luxurious and large, all marble and rich woods. The stately nature of it is somewhat undercut by the tentacle creatures overflowing from every surface - one draped from a pot in the windowsill like some kind of strange succulent, several scattered over the cluttered countertops, an eyestalk glancing up from and immediately disappearing down the sink's drain - but it's still clearly a place Taako has doted on, built up into something beautiful and comforting.

To say the bath would fit them both is something of an understatement; it might as well be a sauna, set into the floor and already filled, like it maybe stays filled all the time; there's a faint mineral smell in the air, and it would make sense for it to be a hot spring if it wasn't the _second floor of a building in the middle of a city._ Beside the bath is a shower area, much simpler but still nice, more reminiscent of the one downstairs in the fitting room, and several overflowing baskets of products.

"Gimme a smell or a color and I'll figure something out," Taako says, completely oblivious to any startlement the room might impress on Kravitz. He's actually forgotten how wild it is, having lived here as long as he has. "Uhh, I rinsed off earlier, so the shower's all yours."

He kisses Kravitz on the cheek, then wanders over to the baskets.

Kravitz's gasp is audible and undeniable, and he doesn't stop there. He runs his hand over the nearest surface and turns, amazed, to Taako, unable to put the right words in the right order but coming up with "Holy shit Taako? Taako??? You live here?" Which is dumb and he's not implying that Taako lives in the bathroom but BOY WOULD KRAVITZ LIKE TO BECAUSE HOLY SHIT, TAAKO.

"This is AMAZING, I can't BELIEVE, this is magic- right- it has to be magic- oh man- I can't even get hot water in my apartment half the time this-- TAAKO, WOW." He feels like he's on fantasy HGTV.

“Huh? —Oh, right. Gotta sink all the money I get from rich weirdos into _something_ ,” Taako quips with a smile. “Uh, there is a little magic, the water’s displaced from a hot spring, but mostly it’s just. You know.”

He waves his hands. Then, grinning, “I know my fascinating lifestyle is distracting, but I _do_ want to pick somethin’ you like as a bath bomb.”

"Right, right right right um." Kravitz stalls, still trying to take it all in. "What do you have to offer? I'll be honest, the pretty ones are my favorites, with all the colors and things. And glitter!! I love the ones with deep colors and glitter and it looks like a star field and it smells nice and makes your skin soft..." He's gushing, and he feels silly about it, but. Taako probably doesn't mind, right?

Taako grins, flitting over to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I can do that, babe. Star field comin’ right up. Now go clean off,” he says, giving him a playful shove. “Gotta keep that gorgeous hair of yours soft, after all.”

With that he’s off again, sorting through his bombs and oils excitedly. His tail is clearly flicking under his silk robe, wiggling happily.

"You've got it."

He goes over to the shower and....well, he glances back at Taako, and. Why is he being weird about this. They just had sex. Kravitz takes off his robe and starts the shower and steps in and can't contain a moan, because the water just feels. So good. And a bath with Taako is going to be even better.

How did he get so lucky?? How does he stop the universe from figuring out who he really is and taking all this back?

Taako’s ears flick towards Kravitz at the sound of the moan, but he keeps his composure admirably—he doesn’t choke or gasp or turn around and fuck Kravitz against his bathroom wall, and that’s a _victory for poise._

Finally he snags a lovely dark purple ball from his stack--it smells nicely of lavender, and it’s interspersed with enough deep blue and glitter to give a starry effect. He puts it on the marble edge of the tub, then shucks his own robe and tosses it blindly towards the door.

“Hey, you wanna watch it fizz?”

"Mm? Oh, yeah..." Kravitz finishes rinsing off and steps out, careful not to drip too much water on the floor. He pushes his hair out of the way and turns off the water.

So, so very aware of how naked he is. But. Walks over to where Taako is.

"Did you make that?"

“This? Nah, this is all fantasy Lush,” Taako says, sitting down at the pool’s lip. His feet kick aimlessly at the water. “I probably could learn to make them, but I just never get around to it.”

He tosses the bath bomb into the water, where it splashes slightly before beginning to fizz. Then, with a grin at Kravitz, he slips in after it, dunking completely under for a moment before breaking the surface with a happy gasp. It’s basically just a hot tub, with benches around the sides to sit on and a lowered bottom, and he’s clearly thrilled to luxuriate. He crooks a finger at Kravitz, grinning. “Come here, cutie.”

"Yes, sir." Kravitz swallows. He wonders if he's coming on too hard saying shit like that, even if he's doing it to be goofy, but Taako didn't exactly object last time. And he's the one giving commands here.

Kravitz pads across the crazy fucking fancy bathroom and steps into the water, letting loose another embarrassing moan when the warm water hits him.

If Taako’s face goes a deep red, he can probably blame it on the steam, but Kravitz doesn’t call him out so he doesn’t have to. Instead, he gets to indulge in the distinct pleasure of sidling up next to a gorgeous guy and catching a hand in one of his.

"Taako...this is so nice. My bathtub is barely even big enough to hold my limbs, this. This is amazing? Wow..." He sinks right in, feeling the warmth go straight to his wayward bones.

“I’m glad you like it,” Taako murmurs, surprised to find he means it. He strokes Kravitz’s wet hair affectionately, carding it through the fingers of his free hand.

Around them, the water is turning a swirling, shimmery purple. The smell of lavender hangs sweet in the air. A tentacle pokes at his foot and he kicks it away before it can spook Kravitz.

"Taako, this is just wonderful." Kravitz leans against him and lets himself relax, melting into the water and against his..............boyfriend??????????

His eyes snap open. Can he ask about that? Is that weird? Taako, what are we? Uhh. They agreed to further dates, right? That doesn't necessarily preclude anything in the way of an official relationship.

Kravitz groans and sinks his head underwater.

Taako blinks down at him, bemused. When Kravitz resurfaces, he asks, smiling, "...You okay there, babe? Are you hidin' a secret amphibious nature from me or something?"

He wonders if he should mention the tentacles curled together at the bottom of the tub. Probably, but he's not sure how to broach that particular subject without sounding like an absolute weirdo, so instead he just winds their fingers together.

"Um." Kravitz wipes his face and tries to find his footing. He touches something strange, but the bath bomb has colored the water enough that he can't tell what it is. Except. This is Taako's bathtub, so. Probably tentacles, right?

He startles himself into laughter. This is already so weird. He just needs to have a bit of perspective, right?

"Taako. Are we boyfriends? And is there a monster in your bathtub? Both of these things are very important."

Taako pauses, startled, then snorts gracelessly. He's so stupid cute.

"Oh for god's sake," he says, squeezing his hand. "Yes, there's a monster in my bathtub, although more accurately it's that the bottom part of my bathtub is a bunch of tentacles. And I'll be your boyfriend if you want me to, Krav, that's why I invited you to my house and made you dinner and sucked your dick."

He leans forward, bumping their foreheads together with a small smile and winding his tail around Kravitz's waist. "You're allowed to be an active participant in those decisions too, you know."

Kravitz splits into a sunny grin he can't contain and kisses the hell out of Taako. He???? Has a boyfriend?????

Oh no, he has a boyfriend. He hasn't had a boyfriend in ages. What do people even do with boyfriends????

Well. Kiss them. And spoil them. And. Make decisions with them.

"In that case," Kravitz says, trying for serious and falling a bit short. "I've decided we should try out the tentacles in your fancy bathtub."

Taako laughs against Kravitz's lips as he's kissed, looping his arms around his neck happily. He nuzzles at his cheek when he pulls away, purr thrumming to life in his chest.

"I can do that," he murmurs. A thick tendril coils loosely around Kravitz's ankle as he says that, another several winding around them both, light and gentle. Then he adds, happy and a little muffled against his neck, "-You're _so_ cute."

"I love it when you purr..." Kravitz goes in for kiss after intoxicating kiss, laughing softly in bemused affection. Cute. He hasn't been called cute before. It's strange, what it does to him. Next, he'll be giving and receiving flowers and making baked goods...well, scratch that, his would probably embarrass Taako. Maybe he can make something else.

His toes curl and he reaches to stroke the nearest tentacle, his heart pounding to life again. This...this....this is a dream.

Taako shifts, moving to straddle Kravitz's lap in between kisses. He frames Kravitz's face with his hands, trying to get close and hold him tight. It's hard to talk through the purr, a little, but he manages to say, "Good, because I'm too cozy _not_ to."

The tentacles wind tighter around Kravitz, one squeezing his chest gently as another several twist around his ankles and tug just hard enough to pin his legs. When they break for air, he murmurs, "Two choices, gorgeous; either I fuck you with these or I hold you down and ride you. You got a preference?"

"Is, um." Just that little bit of pressure is incredibly distracting. Kravitz shifts to no avail-- there's no escaping Taako here. Not that he would want to. Tentacles, Taako.....Taako....Tentacles...

"Is there a both option?"

Taako grins, ducking his head to nuzzle his neck. “Good answer.”

He pushes Kravitz until he’s leaned back slightly, then kisses him gently on the lips once and snaps his fingers. As he does, the previously calm tentacles seem to come alive, tugging Kravitz’s legs wider and reaching out of the water to wind around his wrists. They don’t really restrict his range of motion, but they’re there and promising.

And Taako smiles devilishly at him, pushing out of his lap to float to the other side of the tub and push himself mostly out of the water, dangling his feet in. The way his legs are spread hides very little, particularly not the slickness beneath his tentacles that’s not quite the right look to be from just bathwater.

“Okay, here’s how this is gonna go down,” he chirps, “I’m gonna sit here and...get us both comfy...until at least I’m sure neither of us will get _hurt_ or anything, which is partially because I don’t want to be super distracted and start fucking you at the same time and partially because I want to see your face when I open you up. Cool?”

"Oh my god, um." Kravitz's ears are ringing. Hearing this sort of thing out loud is surreal, not to mention the tentacles. "Okay. Um. Yeah."

But he's going to mention those tentacles, because holy shit. The way they just take hold of him is _intoxicating_. It's invigorating. It's....... _perfect_. Like a dream. A very wet dream.

"Yep. Yeah. You. Yes. Good. Sure. Yeah."

And speaking of _very_ _wet_. Kravitz would die for Taako. It's just a fact now. If Taako asked him for anything, he would do it. His aching...heart desperately wants to take Taako in the same breath as it wants Taako to rail the brains out of him. And...well, if they're an item. He can have that.

He doesn't quite restrain an undignified giggle.

Taako laughs right back, endeared by his stuttering approval. He’s glad he’s here, he’s glad they’re having fun, he’s _especially_ glad Kravitz is down to do all manner of crazy bullshit.

He clicks his tongue, giving wordless permission to the tendrils to take him as they like; they’re used to Taako’s body, so there’s a brief moment of curious exploration before anything really happens, gentle touching over his cock and his chest and even, momentarily, the rounded tips of his ears, which makes Taako laugh again.

“Oh my god, sorry, they’re trying to figure out why you’re different from me,” he says, grinning.

Oh. Dear. They're not even fucking him yet, but just the taste of tentacles on his skin makes Kravitz ache. They're so new, so purely unique, he already can't get enough of them. And Taako's effortless control? Sexy as hell.

"Do they like your ears? Are they really that sensitive?" Which sounds like a question that only has one answer. He wars with wanting to get his hands on Taako and wanting Taako to just have his way with him, and he tugs against the 'restraining' tendrils to test them out. His heartbeat thrums too loud in his chest. This is perfect. This is destiny. This is.......so hot.

Taako’s face colors. “My ears are.... Well. You’ll see.”

The tentacles hold him fast, showing very little give when he pulls against them. At the same time, a thin tentacle, no more than pinky-width, presses into him. Taako’s watching him with an open hunger, his eyes bright around blown pupils.

Taako lets out a soft hiss of breath as his own tentacles coalesce into one, which pushes into him in tandem with the one slowly fucking Kravitz.

Taako catches Kravitz’s eye with a lazy smile, murmuring, “ _gorgeous_.”

Kravitz gasps and shifts, tugging against the restraints. He thought they would be looser, but no, Taako's going for it, and Kravitz couldn't be more turned on. He loves the black look in Taako's eyes, that hard, needy stare, and the desire to please and the desire to be a spiteful brat war within him. It wouldn't hurt to make Taako work for a bit of gratification, would it?

Kravitz bites his lip and controls his reaction, even though it makes him breathe heavy even before they've gotten into the physical stuff. Fuck. He could just be held down here and toyed with, Taako playing with him with no way to push back, no escape from the incredible pleasure his tools can provide. Kravitz gasps and squeezes his thighs together as much as the restraints will allow. Besides making Taako work for his embarrassing noises, he's not used to just....letting himself have a good time. It's hard to relax. It's hard to let himself...enjoy it. He supposes Taako isn't going to give him a choice.

Gorgeous. Oh boy. Oh dear. Kravitz is so weak. He bites his lip harder to keep anything stupid from falling out and focuses on--where can he even look? Taako's personal tentacles are beautiful, they're tantalizing, he wants Taako to hold him down and fuck his mouth and use him like he deserves and-

He squeezes his eyes shut. Let this time last. Let it take more than a few minutes. They're relaxing here.

“Come on, sweetheart, look at me,” Taako purrs. “Let me see those pretty eyes of yours.”

He shivers, then slips back down into the water, sending water lapping gently against the edges of the pool. Taako shifts to kneel over Kravitz’s lap and takes his face in his hands, pulling him into a kiss.

“Let me look at you, pretty boy. Let me make you feel good.”

"If you insist," Kravitz quips, but in the same breath he opens his eyes because he can't resist an order, not in this setting. Not so close and so sweet.

He holds his breath, afraid to let go, afraid to have this and let it be as good as he knows it could be. He doesn't want to enjoy it if he can't keep it. He doesn't want it to be over.

He kisses Taako again, because he can't resist, because it doesn't take a coherent thought. The softness welcomes him like he belongs there.

"Do whatever you want to me," he fucks up and lets slip. "I'm yours."

"Oh, _good_ boy," Taako murmurs. He returns those kisses eagerly, grinding his slickness against him without quite sinking down onto him. "Do you want a thicker one, babe?"

 _Good boy_. Fuck. Fuck, he's so fucked. He's electrified now.

"Yes, please- more-"

Taako is so perfect, so good, so in control, Kravitz pulls against the restraints to try to touch him and feels another electric shiver down his spine when he just can't quite reach.

"I'll- you can take my mouth, you can do anything you want, what, do you want, actually?"

Idiot babbling like a fool. He's so hard. How quickly Taako's got him wrapped around his finger.

"Shh, it's okay," Taako murmurs, "Breathe. I might use your mouth later, gorgeous, but for now I wanna feel you in me."

He waves his hand lazily--controlling them doesn't require him to actually move, but he's always liked the flair--and the tendril fucking Kravitz is replaced with one that's thicker and more textured, which presses into him slowly, giving him a second to get used to the feeling before Taako lines Kravitz up with his entrance. He kisses him as he grinds down, breath shaky, and loosens his grip on his arms a bit.

Kravitz moans and thrusts automatically, unable to control himself. He almost forgets to breathe right, but if Taako asks, he can have it, and he lets out another matching shaky breath.

"Fuck," he kisses back, sloppy and needy and radiating pure desire. So eager to please. "Taako, yes, Taako, good perfect Taako, feels so good..." He loses track of Taako's face and closes his eyes again, mouthing at Taako's neck.

Taako shudders at the feeling of Kravitz fucking into him, drapes his arms over his shoulders and rolls his hips greedily.

"You can bite," he breathes, "mark me up, I wanna see it in the mirror tomorrow. _God_ , you feel good."

Given permission, Kravitz is all over that. He's afraid to be too careless with his teeth just yet, but he leaves impassioned hickeys with reckless abandon. It's strange, being restrained like this, keeping his balance. Usually he would hold onto the person.

Usually, he thinks, as if he's gotten laid in the last _cough_ years. As if he's not closing his eyes out of habit because he's embarrassed to watch himself masturbate.

No matter. Taako. He has Taako, and he ought to give him the most pleasure a simple Kravitz can provide, and using the tentacle grip and fancy bathtub as leverage, he fucks into Taako to hear his sweet, sweet moans.

" _Ah_ \-- fuck, good boy," Taako says. He drops his head back, baring his neck and shuddering. "Feels-feels really nice, don't stop."

He lets go of the pressure on Kravitz's arms, leaning against him with a high sound somewhere between a moan and a sigh. "You can hold on to me, gorgeous, I wanna feel all of you."

With permission, Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako, savoring the feel of him. Working so hard to ride him. Fuck, he's good. His hands travel across his skin, leaving impressions behind. Digging his nails in a bit. Good boy. He wants to be good for Taako so fucking bad. Bite, he said. The skin on his neck is so thin, but maybe...

A bit awkward, Kravits travels down his neck to a shoulder, where he sinks his teeth in. Not hard, but enough to leave a memory behind.

Taako’s voice raises in a breathy trill at the nails on his skin and shifts to a gasping shout when he’s bitten, shuddering hard.

“ _Good_ ,” he says, “D-do that as much as you want, it’s nice. Mm, all of this is nice, you’re just _perfect_ in me. Gonna be hard to let you go after this an’ not just-just keep you here all to myself.” He’s rambling, fingers knotting in Kravitz’s hair.

Something wild deep in Kravitz wants Taako to keep him. Too bad he has a real job. He can at least leave Taako a reminder until the next time they meet, and he leaves a few playfully needy impressions.

But he can't forget about the tentacles either, and their insistence makes it hard to catch his breath. The thickness, the movement, it's so good he wishes he could be better for Taako, better than plain old normal factory preset junk. Maybe that's a quest for another day.

"Good- Taako- fuck- can you- more?"

“ _Can I fuck more?_ ” Taako teases, giving up on things like using his own muscles and letting a thick tendril do the work of lifting him up so he can do the _important_ bit of chasing every bit of sensation he can when he grinds back down. “Yeah, I think I can do that.”

Kravitz moans, boneless and weak, heart full of...something, alright. He's fully at Taako's whims, and that's such a comfortable place to be. He squeezes Taako's hips and guides him where he wants him, which happens to be anywhere closer. He wants it all.

"Taako- Taako, I-"

Taako kisses him. He can barely keep a hold on his own breathing, and having Kravitz beneath him all gorgeous and desperate is so _good_ , and he's so fucking glad Kravitz got lost that day.

"Are you close?" he breathes. "Tell me what you need, darling."

Normally Kravitz would rather die than mention anything of that nature out loud, but. For Taako. For Taako, telling him exactly what to do? He couldn't possibly resist.

"I-"

But that doesn't mean he's fantastic at articulating his needs, either.

"I- more- almost-" Deep breath. "Please- give me more- I'm....so close-"

He flushes, but. But it feels good.

“Good boy,” Taako whispers. He curls his fingers in Kravitz’s hair and grinds down on him desperately as he gets closer himself. “ _So_ good for me.”

He winds his tail around Kravitz’s ankle, vaguely directing the tentacles to fuck him harder. “Come for me, gorgeous, I wanna feel it, c’mon.”

With that kind of permission, who could resist? Kravitz moans, low and perfect and irresistible. He kisses Taako with reckless abandon, desperate. Hungry. The pressure is so good. Taako, the tentacles, all of it is like a dream.

He comes, surprising himself with the intensity, and goes nearly boneless in the grip of the tentacles.

"Ohh. Fuck." His eyes flutter.

Taako comes a moment later, gasping against Kravitz's mouth and clenching around him, his own tentacles twisting aimlessly. The tub's tentacles slowly retract, and Taako shifts just enough to sit sideways in Kravitz's lap, resting his head against the comparatively cool skin of his shoulder.

"Good," he mumbles. Yawns. His ears flick, and he smooths down Kravitz's wet hair. "D'you wanna stay the night? Did I already ask that?"

Kravitz pulls him close, still rocking slightly. Everything feels warm and hazy, and the thought of walking home like this is laughable.

"Mhm. I do." He laughs softly. "I really, really do..."

“Good,” Taako says, snuggling against him. “Good. We should. Probably get out of the tub in a sec here, huh.”

"Eventually," Kravitz agrees, making no move whatsoever. "At some point."

"Alternatively, we could stay here for eternity. You know, together."

“Tempting.” Taako yawns again. “But I guarantee my bed is—is cozier, for cuddlin’ purposes.”

"You're welcome to take us there, but I seem to have lost track of my bones again."

Kravotz closes his eyes and enjoys the moment. Warm and close and sweet. He hasn't been this happy in a long, long time.

Taako laughs into his neck.

“Dang, your bones are just dead fuckin’ set on escaping, huh,” he says. “Mm. I am very cozy, but my dude we will get _so_ raisiny. C’mon.”

Extremely reluctantly, he untangles himself from Kravitz and stands, crawling up out of the tub and offering him a hand up.

Kravitz sighs, long and slow, but he takes the hand. And holds it, not making any effort to actually get up.

"Pull me," he says, his bones loose enough to be bratty with the guy he has a huge hideous crush on and not be embarrassed for the moment.

Taako snorts, then clicks his tongue. The tentacles in the pool pick Kravitz up and gently dump him onto the bathroom floor, his hand still linked with Taako’s.

“Does that count?”

Kravitz laughs, picking himself up and shaking off the extra water.  
"I suppose I deserve that. Do you have a towel I can use? I don't suppose you want a soaked bed."

Taako grins, tossing him one of the plush towels stacked on his counter. “I mean, the bed won’t mind, but I think we’ll both be more comfortable dry.”

Kravitz accepts the towel. Realizes how plush it is. Squashes his face against it and sighs. All of his nerves are a mess. He hadn't this much activity--physical, let alone sexual, in ages, and he has a feeling he may be deliciously sore tomorrow. Maybe next time he can be a little sore on purpose.

Kravitz gives himself a good shimmy and shake, scrubbing and wiggling himself dry before he makes himself blush like a grown ass dork.

"Got any movies? We kind of, um. Skipped the first cheesy dates, and. Well. I mean, I'm not opposed to, perhaps, some cuddling, if,"

Oh no, he’s _so fucking cute._ It takes Taako a moment to process what he says.

“—Oh! Uh, yeah, I think I have fantasy Netflix, my laptop is in my room-what would you want to watch?”

"Oh, um." He didn't think he'd get that far. Maybe he needs to have more confidence. "I don't know. It doesn't have to be a movie. Do you like cooking shows?" He fidgets with the towel, aware of how much he's dripping and how naked he is and how much he was just touched and... completely out of place. His mind is in overdrive and it would be nice to cool down.

“Fuck yeah,” Taako says, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before he turns to leave the room. “As long as you don’t mind commentary, anyway. Is Nailed It good for you?”

"Sure," Kravitz says, like someone intimately familiar with Netflix's service and not, for a wild and wacky example, the X files DVD box set and very little else. He cautiously heads back to the bedroom, belatedly realizing he's not entirely sure what to cover his naked body with. There was the robe, but he didn't exactly bring an overnight bag.

Taako doesn’t really make an effort to hide the way his eyes follow Kravitz as he walks—if you’ve got a hot dude naked in your apartment, you might as well _appreciate_ it, after all—but he does glance away as he flops back down into his bed and whines at the tentacles silently until they bring him his laptop.

He props himself against one edge of the nest and tugs a blanket over his hips, then gestures at Kravitz to join him. Legally, he has to provide cuddles. It’s the law.

"Do you, should I," Kravitz follows Taako like lost duck. Or a puppy. "Pajamas." He knows Common, and how to speak it.

He wraps his hair in the towel so he doesn't keep dripping and feels terribly exposed, even though he knows Taako has seen all of him. Maybe Taako had intended to cuddle naked. How would people even, how would someone feel comfortable enough, what if you got sweaty? That's like holding hands and your hands getting clammy but SO MUCH WORSE. What if it weirds Taako out how cold he gets?

Taako blinked. “I mean, If you want some I’ve got ‘em? But I’m not gonna wear any. Too warm. That being said there’s a loose nightgown over. Uh.” He wiggles his fingers and one of his chairs supplies it. “There.”

Kravitz weighs his options. He doesn't want to seem weird. He doesn't want to freeze Taako out. He doesn't know-- He doesn't know! He feels silly picking up and checking if the nightgown will fit him. That would be triple bad. Naked, embarrassed, and ruining Taako's stuff. He still heads for the bed as he plays with it in his hands, not wanting to make Taako wait either.

"What did you pick? To watch, I mean? Wait, you told me, um. Nail me?"

Taako chokes, giggling into his hands.

 _"I mean I could do that too, if you want,”_ he laughs. He pulls Kravitz down next to him the moment he’s done putting on the gown, nuzzling his hair affectionately. “It’s called Nailed _It_ , babe. People come on and fuck up baked goods in a real fun and charming way.”

"Oh," Kravitz says, flushing again, but. But he's made it this far. Freud can suck it. He slides into bed with Taako and gets as close as he can. "That sounds really nice, actually."

“It is! It’s real fun, even if the bakers make some dumbfuck mistakes,” Taako says. He can’t help wrapping an arm around Kravitz and dropping a kiss against his head-- it’s been so _long_ , and he’s so fucking _cute_. “Like I said, expect Taako Commentary, tee-ehm.”

Forehead kisses. Kravitz swoons. His insides liquify into a bubblegum pink puddle of pure, unobtainable affection.

"Honestly, I can't wait."

Warm and comfortable, he cuddles recklessly with Taako, trading limbs and snuggling close and tucking parts against other bits and soon parts of him he forgot existed are numb but he wouldn't trade it for the world. Comfort just radiates off the two of them.

He loves the show. He loves the commentary, the bed, the company. He's starting to vibrate with the dangerous four letter word. It's too soon. But he's weak and he knows it. Maybe he can pretend it's just a bad case of bees.

"Look, I'm no baker but even I know how to make rice krispie treats." Great job keeping up the illusion of normalcy, Kravitz. Nailed it.

" _Right???"_ How do you go wrong with fuckin'--marshmallows and cereal? It's a _children's project_ ," Taako says, huffing into Kravitz's hair. "Amateurs."

He's having a _wonderful_ time. Warm bed, snuggly boy, good bad television. This is the best date he's had in sixty years, which might be sad, actually?

"Even if they aren't good cooks, they should have some concept of basic--chemistry! It's science!" Kravitz extricates an arm to gesture wildly. "How does this woman not understand that you cannot combine two room temperature solid objects?? It needs to be heated!"  
He doesn't know why he's so heated about this. Part of him feels defensive.

"I'm serious, even I can cook that! And I'm- well..." Some of the heat disappears. "Well, I'm not _terrible_ , but. I think I could win the money. I know basic science and I can follow instructions." Sometimes.

“You’re not competing for ten thousand gold either, and you’ve got a leg up on these goobers,” Taako says. “...Man, if I were still doing baking professionally I’d probably be able to land a guest judge spot. That would be so dope.”

"I think it would suit you. Would you tear them apart, or just laugh in their faces?" Kravitz itches to know more about Taako's past life, but...is that appropriate to ask about? Maybe...just a little? "What was your specialty?"

“I think I’d be like fantasy Sylvia and steal a bunch of top of the line kitchenware, if I’m being honest,” Taako says, laughing into his hair. “And, uh—I did pastry, mostly. That was my favorite anyway. Delicate things like macarons or croquembouche. I also really loved doing, um, shows, where I’d make whole multiple-course meals on stage. I did that for a long time in between monsters, back when people didn’t like admitting they were horny.”

"That's amazing. I burned myself making mac and cheese from a box last week." Kravitz is in awe of Taako, and he's swept up in the desire to let him know, and he realizes that he is still perfectly within his rights to kiss Taako. So he does, all over his face until he's laughing. "I can't believe-- those things are so complex, and you're-" More smooches.

"Taako, you really impress me."

Taako giggles until he’s breathless, trying to meet Kravitz’s kisses like some sort of classic catch-the-falling-fruit game. When he says that, though, the sincerity in his voice makes Taako’s ears flush.

“I—uh-I mean—natch,” he stammers. “...Thank you.”

Oh no. Too sincere. Abort, abort. “Also don’t think I missed you saying you were good at following instructions and then saying you can’t make boxed mac and cheese, sir.”

Kravitz’s heart swells for Taako. His whole chest is going to be 100% heart and loving-Taako goo.

"To be fair, it doesn't say on the box not to buy pans at the thrift store, not check that the handles are sturdy, and then try to catch the pan when the handle falls off."

Sheepish, he changes the subject.

"What were your original monsters like?"

“ _Wait hang on go back_ —no, you know what? I’m just gonna have fun imagining. Uh, the first few were...derivative. I mean, the _very_ first couple were just slimes. Real simple, very stupid, basically just malleable but normal toys. Then I got, uh, too ambitious too fast, wanted to see if I could make a real life—not for fucking, just. Playing god, you know? The ol’ Frankenstein approach. That was a mixed success, but I haven’t really, uh, uh, tried to replicate it.”

Taako wonders how Garyl is doing—it’s been a couple years since they caught up. Last they’d talked he was leading a herd of more normal unicorns somewhere in the Netherlands.

Kravitz hopes there's a statute of limitations on the particular magic code he enforces, because that sure as hell sounds like something super illegal he'd be charged with bringing to justice. But he left his job hat in the other room when he came to this wildly powerful wizard's house for sex and panna cotta, so he's going to leave the law out of the bedroom.

"That's. Wow. I can see why you haven't returned to the experiment." A beat. "I'm....kind of intrigued by slimes? The way they-" three weeks ago he wouldn't have allowed himself to articulate this in his head, let alone out loud to a living person. "The way they fill wherever, you know, they change shape, is the thing, and, I think, that could. Feel. I think it would feel very interesting, you know. To. Yeah."

Okay, still needs some practice on that front. Though he imagines Taako would be willing to give him a lot of practice articulating his deep, dark, sexy desires.

"What is your favorite?"

Taako grins and pats the bed pointedly. “This right here is a Taako _special_ ,” he declares. “Got all the bits and bobs.”

“As for slimes, they’re really fun! There’s always the frustration that there’s really not a ton of, like, rigidity, so even if they fill ya up pretty good they’re not great at, like, size play? That being said, they’re fantastic for feelin’ floaty and wanted, for sure-oh goddamnit I did the advertising voice. They’re fun but not my favorite is what I’m saying.”

Kravitz frowns. "I guess I didn't really think about that. Is, I don't know, is there something like that, but, that. Does both? I- I don't know, what do you like? What else is there?"

He stops himself. "Sorry, we don't have to talk about your work here. We can keep watching them fuck up fondant if you want."

Taako pats his cheek. “It’s fine, cutie. I’m thrilled you’re gettin’ more comfortable with the whole thing. And yeah, there’s combinations—hell, even that lil’ guy you got originally came from a slime base. Just changed the surface tension and the density, mostly. As for me...I dunno, man, most of what I like is what I’ve told you about. I like to make stuff, I like sensory dep, I like. Well.” He strokes one pillow gently, and it reforms under his hand into a thick, ridged thing almost like a cock but slightly too big and slightly too strangely shaped. “—I like a _challenge_.”

He grins, ears red, then dismisses the toy with a wave of his hand and settles back down, turning the show back on. “I’m happy to show you whatever you want, by the way,” he says, even as he tucks his head under Kravitz’s chin and returns his attention to Nicole. “All you gotta do is ask.”

Kravitz sucks in a sharp breath at the sight of the. Challenge. Taako presents him with. Even as Taako redirects his attention, Krav's face is still hot. Part of him wars with all of this perversion, especially with including other people in it. Part of him wants to see it all.

"Taako, I. I want to try out more things." It comes out in a tumble, somehow easier to say when Taako can't see him. "I want you to, try, I want you to-try-more-things, on me, I mean, you can do, whatever, um, you like to me. A-and. I- I don't know- how to ask, for, what all I want, but. I want. More."

He wraps his arms around Taako and tries to avoid spontaneous combustion. He really does like the show, even as he keeps talking over it.

Taako smiles, wrapping an arm around Kravitz in return. “Well, good,” he says. “I’ll keep that in mind. I do hope you’re still up for that stupid fuckin’ dragon, because seriously, it is a thing and a half to see.”

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Emboldened, Kravitz presses a kiss to Taako's forehead. "It's a date." And maybe...just maybe...there will be many more to come.

Taako falls asleep before the episode ends, curled into Kravitz’s side and purring up a storm. He’s so soft and sweet and dumb. Taako trusts him. Maybe too much? But gods, he’s so damn _good_. It doesn't take much for Kravitz to fall asleep either, snuggly and warm and a little bit sore. Satisfied. It's a terrible position to sleep in, but it's the best rest he's had in ages.


	6. Trial Six--The Slime Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz tests the slime dragon and Taako watches. Things get Hot and heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter and I can't wait for you to experience this. Please leave us your comments of feelings and wild animal noises and favorite quotes and tributes to ancient, unspeakable gods. 
> 
> In this chapter:  
> slime dragon sex  
> possessive language  
> oral sex/vaginal fingering

Taako presses a kiss to Kravitz’s cheek when he feels him stirring, pleased to still be together. “Hey, babe. Do you want something to eat?”

Waking up in a strange place is completely disorienting for Kravitz. It has been, perhaps, two and a half forevers since there was another person in his bed in the morning. Not that this is his bed. If you could call it a bed.

The puzzle pieces assemble themselves and he puts two and two and pi together and figures out exactly the right thing to say.

"Pleabsolutely. I mean. Please. Yes." Points already. Fuck, does his breath smell bad? He never has to think about it. Kravitz covers his mouth, too quick to make it subtle whatsoever.

Taako laughs out loud, leaning down to kiss his temple before he sits up. “Anythin’ in particular you want? Or just some sort of standard breakfast?”

Kravitz flushes and feels his heart jump out of his chest like a cartoon.

"You're the cook, you should decide. I can try to help, if you'll have me." He's not in love, he's not in love, they barely know each other.

But he's well on his way to like-like.

“Pancakes it is, then,” Taako says with a smile. “Feel free to use the bathroom, I’ve probably got a spare toothbrush in there somewhere you can have.”

"Yep."

Does that mean Taako noticed his breath??? Or is he just being a good host? Kravitz pushes himself out of the bed, a little reluctant to leave the warmth-- Taako is _so warm???_ \-- and heads for the bathroom.

Taako watches him go with a smile, then levers himself up out of bed and wanders sleepily to the kitchen. He’s still got some pancake mix from a breakfast-for-dinner thing he did with Lup a few days prior, so it’s mostly just a matter of dumping butter into a pan and making the inevitable Shitty First Pancake.

Kravitz takes himself a moment and tries to cool it. And when that doesn't work, he tries to pretend he's cooled it and that he can have a pleasant, casual, social interaction with another living being. He can't help how hard his heart keeps beating or, oh gods, how little he prepared for this and how less than perfect he looks now. But what can he do?

He can bask in the radiance of his new... Did they decide on boyfriend? Gods above, they did. With that, all bets are off. He gets himself ready and nearly skips to the kitchen. Boyfriend. Boyfriend! They're moving so fast he can feel the wind in his hair and he doesn't care! He has a boyfriend that runs a tentacle sex shop! Life is fucking crazy!

Excited but careful of Taako's preparations, Kravitz slides into the kitchen and kisses him on the cheek. Just, completely fucking giddy. And why shouldn't he be!

Taako's ear twitches as Kravitz approaches, and he can't help a smile at the kiss, winding his tail around Kravitz's leg affectionately for a moment. "You're in a good mood this morning," he says. "It's _very_ cute."

"Better not call me _very cute_ again or you'll get more where that came from." With Taako's tail around his leg, Kravitz takes it as permission to get snuggly, and he wraps his arms loosely around Taako's waist.

"You've put a spell on me," Kravitz murmurs. "You've cursed me with tentacles and perfumes and wild things."

Taako laughs, leaning back against his chest. “The cutest.”

He pauses for a moment to yawn and flip a pancake. “I could cast a real spell on you, if you want,” he says. “Not right _now_ , obviously, now is for breakfast, but if you ever want to try anything magic directly on you let me know.”

"Oh _gods_ , Taako, you kill me. I hate to surprise you with this now, but I'm very easily overwhelmed. I'm sorry if you're disappointed." Kravitz laughs at his own stupid joke and moves just enough to give Taako more range of motion without letting go. "Maybe you could make me a menu. Figure out what all my options are."

“I like it,” Taako says idly. “I don’t wanna push too far or anything, but it’s fun to have a handsome man all flustered in my, uh, nefarious clutches.”

He flips the pancake onto the stack that’s slowly forming next to him. “How many do you want?”

In his nefarious clutches. It's cheesy, but Kravitz shivers.

"All of them."

Oh wait, he means pancakes.

"Um, what do you have to put on them?"

Taako cracks, snickering into his hand for a moment before he manages to answer. “I have maple syrup, a couple kinds of jam, uhh, chocolate sauce, berries probably...?”

"Homemade jam or Smuckers-brand jelly business?" Kravitz doesn't even know where to start imagining the shit Taako can probably pull off in the kitchen. He doesn't dare to dream, let alone request....but imagine... What if Taako's the kind of guy who bakes when he gets stressed? Fuck! He's so lucky!! "It's going to be perfect. You're already spoiling the shit out of me."

“I have some homemade stuff my sister made in the fridge,” he says. “Blackberry, I think.”

"That sounds amazing."

Kravitz gives Taako another kiss and makes a conscious effort not to be clingy. He goes instead to inspect the contents of the fridge and, just out of sight, gently touch his tingling lips. He can't help but smile.

Taako sees, of course. He has eyes all over the place. But he doesn’t say anything—he just smiles, his ears flicking happily, and tries not to make teakettle noises.

He doesn’t put a ton of effort into plating—pancakes are easy to make look nice. Stack ‘em up, one two three, smack on some butter, and you’ve got a Fashionable Dish. He puts the plates on the table with a pleased little trill.

Kravitz is incredibly impressed. He's easily impressed anyway, because he buys the frozen pancakes that come in big bags, and then he microwaves them and eats them with his hands in front of the TV, but this is so weirdly special and personal and perfect and nice that he's barely containing the giggles. He's no one-night-stand expert, but judging by what little he's gleaned from pop culture, this is sort of a Big Deal. People don't just make pancakes for people they want to fuck off. He digs in with reckless abandon and doesn't hesitate in letting Taako know how much he approves.

Kravitz is so _cute_. Taako’s used to people just tolerating him, avoiding his gaze, speaking with thinly-veiled disdain for his profession even as they buy his stuff—it’s just the nature of the work; people are ashamed of wanting to fuck a monster, so it’s doubly shameful to provide said monsters to fuck.

And, sure, Kravitz had been embarrassed, even shy, but it has all been so full of genuine _respect_ and _curiosity_ that Taako would have liked him as a customer even if he weren’t drop-dead gorgeous. But he is, and it turns out he’s also sweet and gentle and just as enthusiastic about food as he is about sex toys, and Taako is absolutely fucking ruined.

Kravitz looks up from spreading butter on his fifth pancake and, seeing Taako smiling at him, is helpless but to smile back.

"What?" He says, as if Taako needs a reason to radiate pleasantness and secret, tempting occult knowledge and deliciously smug power. He's beautiful. He's incredible. He almost makes Kravitz want to take up oil painting and do his portrait up fancy, all 1700’s-style. His brain is having a hard time conceptualizing this relationship and what it means, and the thought keeps pushing him back like a hot stove, except instead of burning his delicate flesh, it releases glitter and confetti when he touches it.

Gods above, Kravitz, you sucker. You helpless romantic.

“Nothin’,” Taako says, reaching over to tuck a flyaway strand of hair behind Kravitz’ ear. He’s so _pretty_. “Just enjoying your company. Got a while where it’s totally acceptable to stare dreamily at a handsome man across my table, I’m gonna make use of it.”

"Yeah, well. Right back at you," Kravitz says lamely. "Um. Uh." Just real articulate this AM, huh, Krav. Just really elocuting the fuck out of this business.

"Do you have to work this morning?" There. That's. Reasonable. "Do you set your own hours, or do you have a schedule you keep to? Do you do a lot of business, or is it more about the commissions?" Alright, you're overcorrecting. Slow down, cowboy.

“Mm, I should probably open sometime today,” Taako says noncommittally. He drums his fingers against the table. “Shop only opens when I want it to, but Saturdays are usually when people come in...It’s still pretty early, though, it’s totally normal for a sex shop to open at like noon. I mean, I do operate in several time zones, but. I don’t have any actual _appointments_ today.”

Plus he really does want to try some things out on Kravitz. That’s definitely for business, and not just because he wants to see his boyfriend (!!!!!!!?) get railed by a slime dragon of Taako’s own invention.

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense." Not a lot of people shopping for tentacle dildos and restraining beasts and. Who knows what else. Sex terrariums and erotic ambrosia and custom glitter ovipositors. "I guess you don't get a lot of business at nine in the morning in the middle of the work week. You must get pretty bored."

Not that Kravitz can imagine getting used to all that AND the folks who intend to spend great gobs of money to employ such things in their sexual routines. He's done his time in retail and he doesn't even want to consider what the inside of that particular venn diagram looks like. Then again, he imagines himself behind Taako's counter and-- honestly, the scene fizzles out there, but his cheeks grow hot regardless.

“I mean, sometimes! But I’m always tryin’ to improve my wares, so I stay pretty busy,” Taako says, gathering up his plate and dumping it into the sink, which takes over for him. When he sees Kravitz flush, he laughs, kissing his cheek. “Speaking of which, do you still wanna try anything today?”

"Oh- um-" Kravitz played himself. He brought it up. Maybe his subconscious did. "Yeah, yeah, actually. Why not?" He should go home first and clean up, He wants to look good when Taako takes him apart for his part time job. Wait, is he getting paid for this? .......Does he need to? It's more like a subscription service to weird sex things and conversations with Taako.

...Yeah, totally worth it.

“If you have anything you wanna do today, probably do that first,” Taako says. “Uh, just sort of guessing here, but I think you might be wiped after.”

Kravitz sputters.

"What, um. What, exactly, do you have planned...for me?"

So Kravitz is going to go home, clean up, and scream for three hours.

“ _Well_ ,” Taako says, draping himself over Kravitz’s shoulders so he can purr at him better, “I still have a couple things need testing, but I have to ship that goopy dragon thing I told you about soon, so that was what I was thinking. If you’d rather do somethin’ else that’s fine, but...”

He grins. “I dunno, it’s at the top of my list.”

"I'll do anything." For you, Kravitz might add, but it already sounds incredibly sappy. He's found himself in the Hallmark Channel version of a porno. What does this say about him? Thank fuck he had no plans. "I, um. I can be back in. Maybe an hour. That. It sounds good." Kravitz doesn't even know what to expect beyond the fact that it absolutely is going to ruin him.

“Okay, rad,” Taako says. “Oh, yeah, I need to do one thing before you go—“

He shifts far enough that he can kiss him, not particularly hard but warm and slow and sweet. When he pulls away, he grins. “There, perfect.”

Kravitz is going to pass out.

"Thanks," he says weakly, then remembers he can do that right back and takes his chances. He kisses Taako back, not quite as slow, but savoring every electric second of it. He awkwardly gets up and gets his things and. Okay. Kisses Taako again. He's irresistible.

"Bye. See you soon. Bye. I'll be back. Later. Goodbye!" They did this. It wasn't just a dream. They did this and they're dating now and he's coming back and Taako is going to take him apart piece by piece and. He has got to pull it together.

"Bye!!!"

Taako clings to him through the kiss, his purr an uncontrollable thrum in his chest. When they break, he leans against his counter, trying to maintain the façade that he’s not weak in the knees. He does get his brain in order enough to quietly activate the doors to the outside, though. “Bye, babe. I’ll see you in a bit.”

BABE. Kravitz is done for.

"Yeah," he thinks he says, weak and dizzy and. You know. He barely gets outside before he's full blown singing-in-the-rain-style heel clicking and dancing down the sidewalk. This is. So much.

And Kravitz really, really likes it. He gets home and cleans himself up and takes his vitamins and. Screams into a pillow for a bit. Packs his lunch and lays out his clothes for work tomorrow because fuck knows how hard this is going to go. Taako said slime and dragon, neither of them traditional things that belong in normal bodies, and Kravitz couldn't be more excited. But. He still has to be ready. He buzzes back and forth in his apartment, full of bees, until it's an appropriate time to return. And, in a comfortable but also stylish enough outfit, he sets back out to Taako's shop. Here goes nothing.

As soon as Kravitz is gone, Taako collapses to the floor of the kitchen and breaks down giggling. He did that!!! He _did_ that!!!?!!! He fucked the cute boy and it went really well and it’s gonna happen _again_ and he liked Taako’s food and Taako is _gay_.

He allows himself five minutes of half-panicked, half-delighted hand flapping before shaking his head and standing up. He does actually have shit to do to get ready, like putting on real clothes instead of his filmy robe and going to make sure all possible failsafes are in place on the dragon. He knows he’s good at what he does, but he _really_ doesn’t want to fuck up and hurt Kravitz.

When Kravitz arrives, Taako is perched on the table in his workshop, fiddling with a smaller custom piece. His ears flick straight up at the door opening, and he activates a sort of intercom charm he’s had for ages to chirp, “I’m in the back room, come on through!”

Kravitz still feels weird about going behind the counter, into the EMPLOYEES ONLY zone, but. He was invited. Vampire rules. Right? His palms are sweaty and he's worried his somewhat more comfortable clothes aren't attractive enough. But it's not like Taako would stop the process because he wasn't cute. Right? He wouldn't do that, right?

Jesus, you really can have anxiety about anything. He shakes himself and braces himself and puts on an only-sort-of-nervous smile to match his lipgloss, and he enters the arena. It's going to be good. It's going to be fun. It's a fucking slime dragon. He can't mess this up.

Oh yeah. And they're BOYFRIENDS.

Taako hops off the table as Kravitz comes through the door. He pads up to him eagerly, bouncing up onto his tip-toes to press a kiss to Kravitz’s cheek.

“Hey, handsome, welcome back,” he says, tail swishing behind him.

Half of Kravitz's stress melts right off and puddles around his feet. He may have heart eyes. It's totally normal.

"I'm handsome. I- I mean- I'm back- _You're_ handsome-" It's a weak save, but even the flush doesn't stop his smile. This is where he wants to be. This is the person he wants to be with. That tail is going to be the death of him.

"What- um. What- What's, on, the docket."

Taako laughs, stepping back enough that he has room to gesture to the small above-ground pool toward the back of the room. It’s currently filled with a gelatinous purple substance, but.

“Uh, that turns into a dragon,” he says. “It can get smaller, but I took it out a bit ago to run through some stuff. I’m—there’s no—I don’t know how to say this in a way that doesn’t sound ridiculous. The idea is you get fucked by a dragon. For science.”

"I love science-" Kravitz sputters, in his smoothest 'I'd do anything for you/let you do anything to me' voice. He can't even comprehend exactly what that means--his brain is shorting out getting to the natural consequences of doing Something Like This, as if there have ever been things like this, honestly who in their right mind would fuck a dragon?

Kravitz is so, so incredibly down for this. He's just got to get over the analysis part and dive straight into the wet dream reality he's landed himself in.

"What do you need me to do?"

“Well,” Taako says, grinning. “Slime monsters don’t mesh well with clothes, so those should probably go, unless you want them to be sticky and purple, uh, forever.” He hooks a finger through his shirt, not really opening any of the buttons but certainly _suggesting_. “Uh, standard red-yellow-green rules apply, this one may be a little on the hesitant side because I sometimes overcorrect before I finalize...”  
  
"Um." _GODS_. Taako can pull on Kravitz’s collar anytime. Actually. That's a hell of a thought he'll stash away for later. But. Well. It seems silly to stall, but also. Hospitality? Um. Hm. He knows his pupils must be huge, and Taako can see everything.

Taako trails off, thinking. “Beyond that, uh, have fun, I guess? I’ll show you one or two things about slimes before you really get started. You good, or do you want a minute? Glass of juice?”

"Um, just, uh, a few pointers, I guess." Jumping straight into the deep end, Kravitz guesses. He starts undoing his shirt from the bottom, just on the off chance Taako still feels like carrying out his threat to assist him.

Taako does, in fact, feel like doing that—he meets Kravitz in the middle, then leans up to kiss him again, skimming palms across his chest and pushing his shirt off his shoulders.

“ _Gods_ you’re unfairly gorgeous,” he murmurs, pulling back to look him up and down. “Gonna have trouble not interfering with the test, hard to keep my hands off of you.”

"If you keep looking at me like that..." Kravitz takes his belt off and slides his pants down. These underwear aren't so cute, but the black still shows his assets in high relief. "Maybe I'll beg you to join me. Wouldn't want to ruin your test, though."

He's just running his mouth at this point.

"Wouldn't want you to be disappointed with your _results_."

“I dunno, repeat studies never hurt,” Taako jokes. “ _But really though_ , I’m lookin’ forward to watching, too. And I still have to give you the rundown. C’mere.”

Taako tugs him over to the side of the pool, gesturing to what’s inside. “Right now, it’s dormant. Basically just, you know, slime.”

He dips his hand in, showing how it’s thick and viscous but still drips from his fingers. “But if I tap it twice...”

Taako does. And, indeed, it grows into a transparent purple dragon; it’s not massive, standing at about seven and a half feet tall, but it’s graceful and distinctly a dragon, its surface holding together well enough to even have scales visible.

“If I make any more of these they might be patterned, but this one is pure monochrome,” he says. “Easier to work with.”

"Oh, gods..." Gently, Kravitz reaches out to touch it. "It's--beautiful-"

It's such a baffling, yet inviting texture. It's incomparable, which is such a weird rush Kravitz can't entirely comprehend. "You made this?" He made this. Taako made this. Magic is incredible and extremely attractive. His eyes find Taako's again, tantalized and unsure.

“Sure did,” Taako says. He’s preening under Kravitz’s wonder, ears tinted pink and perked up proudly even as he clears his throat and says, “Uh, one other thing that distinguishes it from critters like the one you bought is, uh, check this out-“

He tilts his hand slightly, so less of its surface area is touching the dragon, and then he _pushes_. And his hand _sinks_.

He wore a sleeveless shirt on purpose; he pushes his arm into the dragon’s side to just above his elbow, then flexes his fingers. It’s hard to move his hand when it’s in there, gentle pressure bearing down on all sides, but he can manage that much, as well as a little bit of arm movement. “Uh, you can do that. It has a sort of suction, so trying to yank whatever’s stuck in there out just makes it cling tighter. Best way to get it to let go is to go real slow and steady, or just make a tapping motion with your fingers twice.”

He demonstrates. His hand comes away easily, if somewhat drippy, but all it takes is flicking his wrist to get most of it gone.

Kravitz nods slowly, distracted. He. Wow. Uh. Wow. Hm. Gosh. Uh. This is real life, huh? He's really here doing this? This is the real thing he is actually doing with his afternoon for free with another person watching? Uh. Gosh. Hm.

He slips off his underwear.

"So um, so. Um. So. What, what do I do? Or- what does it do to me?" He shivers. Wow. Okay. Wow.

“Breathe, darling,” Taako says, putting a soothing hand on his shoulder. “That’s what you do first. After that...”

He pushes Kravitz forward gently, closer to the reach of the dragon. “Just give it the okay and it’ll do the work. Remember, you can stop anytime.”

"Right, right-right-right. Yep. Just, you know, just fuck the dragon. It's fine." Kravitz steps forward, following Taako's direction implicitly. Takes a few more steps. Then a few more.

"Do you have like-" he reaches out and touches it, startled and enamoured by the texture. "A manual, or." He strokes the scales, in awe of Taako's skill. He _made_ this. With his hands, and his magic, and his clever, mischievous mind. This incredible imagination Kravitz couldn't hold a candle to. "Maybe a pictorial guide, or, an audiobook-" Where else could that imagination take them?

"Babe, this is in beta, how would I have made a manual?" Taako laughs, rubbing his shoulder soothingly for a moment before finally backing up and hopping back onto the table. "I guess I sort of qualify as the audiobook here, though, huh."

Under Kravitz' hands, the texture is soft and a little bit tacky; the tips of his fingers sort of stick as they move, but it doesn't really limit him.

Taako continues, "Like I said, it'll do most of the work. You gotta give it a verbal start, though. It's already got _my_ okay, but one of the things I was testing for is its ability to require consent from every involved party, which it's passed. Let me know if it gets too cautious and it makes it awkward or uncomfortable, okay? Uh, also, that doubletap motion works to stop everything, not just it holding on. If you do it twice in a row, it reverts to its base goop form."

"Ohh...right, okay. Got it. You, um. Go ahead, dragon-thing. Let's...see what you can do." Kravitz strokes its head and. Fuck, he smiles. It's cute. The whole situation is bizarre and strange and scientific and horny and awkward and intimate and. Gods, he just. Starts to laugh. He's going to fuck a slime dragon in a kiddie pool to help his new boyfriend's sex toy business. Gods! He turns to Taako and laughs even harder. He's going to do this, and, you know what? There's no way it won't be extremely hot, even if it is strange. Things can be sexy AND strange. Just look at Taako.

Kravitz snorts and covers his mouth, not trying to be rude, but here he is, naked and on trial, getting ready to get pounded by a non-Newtonian mountain of lizard. Something clicks and he finally, finally relaxes.

"Bring it on."

Taako startles for a moment at the sudden laughter, but then he's laughing too, ears flicked forward and flushed red and his tail swishing against the table behind him. It is funny--they're here in the sunlit back room of a retail store, and he's got a _clipboard_ , when what happens next will be...

Well, Taako knows precisely what will happen next. He programmed it, after all, knows all the pathways its magical processors can go down, and as such isn't surprised in the slightest when the dragon reaches out to grab Kravitz gently around the wrists, surface tension on its clawed hands breaking easily to envelop them.

Taako clicks his pen. "Does the pressure around your hands feel okay? As someone that's never dealt with slimes before, I mean. Not scary, or anything?"

Kravitz swallows thickly.

"Nope," he says, in entirely the wrong pitch. "Not in, the, uh, slightest." He's got a thing, about his wrists, see, because. Well. He has several things. But being restrained, even slightly, the implication is so- No one has ever actually indulged him in this in real life. He's thought about it before. Dreamed about it. But this is something really touching his real body, and the implication is there, and he knows enough math to follow it through to the end and there's no reason for that thing to not just hold him down and take him and he is instantly way too warm. His tongue doesn't quite fit in his mouth.

Kravitz tugs gently, testing the resistance.

"Totally fine, actually. Thanks, thank you, for asking."

"Cool, great," Taako says, trying and failing to bite back a smile at the way Kravitz's voice hitches. "Let me know if it starts feeling uncomfortable or painful or anything."

His voice stays remarkably controlled, given how the most gorgeous man he's ever met is naked in front of him and, ostensibly, at his whim. He could take control at any time, if he wanted. He sort of _is_ , even, he wrote the scripts for this creature. The dragon shifts Kravitz's wrists both to one hand and guides them behind his back, turning him so he's facing more towards Taako than the slime itself and wrapping part of its tail around his middle to keep him stable. Taako hums and scribbles a note.

"I hope you're okay with getting lifted off the ground," he says.

"U-Ah- Um. Hm- I . Hm." Kravitz's voice gets a little higher. "I don't know," he says, like he's never once considered it in his life. You know, like a liar. "We might as well. Try it. And. Find out."

Casual as he tries to be, Kravitz’s knees are shaking. He's actually having a difficult time thinking straight, more like an undercurrent of whispers about giving up control, being controlled, being taken care of...told what to do... His legs part without thinking, and he can't help but be aware of the way his body is reacting to literally two actions on the dragon's part. If this were an rpg, he'd already be in hot water. Part of him starts jumping wildly to conclusions, from restraining him more completely to bending him over and fucking him for Taako to watch. And take notes. Like nothing was happening.

FUCK. Kravitz wills his dick to be a little more patient. For some reason, it isn't willing to listen.

The dragon's other hand, the one that's not holding Kravitz’s wrists, wraps around him, cradling his chest and shoulders as another, more shapeless part of the slime reacts to the way he spreads his legs; it takes it as invitation to wind around _them_ , too, to puppet him gingerly, lift him off the ground and start slowly, intractably immobilizing him.

Taako half wants to push it, to add his own will to the algorithm until it teases him how he would, but that would fuck up his data. As it stands it'll probably be a little bit before it really touches him where he probably wants it unless he begs explicitly, and that...well, that'll be good too. Taako flips the page to a different, less business-oriented one, and makes a note to _make_ him beg, some other time. Then it's back to what's at hand.

Taako smiles, just the slightest hint of sharp teeth visible between his lips. "Excellent," he says. "All in the pursuit of knowledge, of course!"

Kravitz's breath hitches and any air of casualness is instantly swept away.

TEETH TEETH TEETH TEETH, his brain chants, simultaneously aware that he is OFF THE GROUND and NOT IN CONTROL and it is HOLDING him and TOUCHING HIM and _surrounding him_ because _fuck,_ this is the point, isn't it? This is the point of slime that fucks? He's impatient and shifts a bit, but Kravitz doesn't want to ruin the data. This is surely part of its programing, right? It's not a quick sort of thing, is it? But it's so, so close, and he can almost taste the pressure he could have inside and he kicks his legs a little, unable to control himself.

"Please," he mutters under his breath, not entirely sure of the logic. So the slime hears him but not Taako? But Taako's running the test? Is he controlling the slime? No, wasn't it supposed to be its own.....thing? A programmed device, sort of like his tentacle? Scientifically it's amazing, honestly, but fuck, Kravitz, this is no time to be a nerd. It's time to get railed.

The dragon registers that he's real horny for this one and shifts, pushing his chest forward until he's forced to rest against its tail. It's had no indication that it should give anything but instant gratification, so that's what it goes with, pulling him in and closer until it envelops his lower half entirely, teasing at his entrance and pulsing, too soft to be truly satisfying but definitely _there_ , around his cock.

Taako, for his part, twitches an ear at the quiet request and does nothing. He wants to nudge the dragon out of the way and fuck Kravitz himself, but he's a _scientist_ , and it can _wait_. So, instead, he takes notes on what the dragon does in response to ‘please’ and to desperate body language and gives Kravitz a thumbs-up, trying to ignore the way want is pooling in his gut.

Kravitz makes a strangled noise and grasps at it, shivering at the unique pressure. It's--well of course it is, the reaction is so obvious it should be silly--but it's like _nothing he's ever experienced before_. His brain split-screens, some fraction of him remaining on the real, live, actual person watching this whom he desperately wants to impress and this completely unfathomable wet dream formed hand-of-god into physical reality. He's threatened....tempted...to lose hold of it completely. It would be so easy.

Without even thinking, he pushes back against the dragon, aching for further stimulation. It's. The thought occurs to him how strange it is that it can't talk, that it won't hold his hair or say his name or.........kiss him. But it's fine. It's not time to be tender. It's time to be tenderized.

"More-" Kravitz lets out, before he can be too conscious of being demanding. He can't hurt its feelings. Right?

Taako’s smile has gone strange, somewhere between affectionate and predatory; he tilts his head, flicking his ears forward, and watches.

The dragon tightens its grip on his cock, the slime between his legs shifting and expanding to start to fill him, stretching him slowly.

Kravitz's natural impulse is try to cross his legs, but he can't, he can't do anything about it and it's _amazing_ , the pressure is nonsensical and mindblowing and the--the feel of it-- this is--it's exactly what he'd wanted before he understood he wanted it, it's what he'd have imagined if his imagination was capable of such feats, and he loses control and just _moans_ like he's about to get the life fucked of of him, which with any luck will transpire immediately. His hips thrust and twitch wildly, pushing against and into the slime, gods, it's fucking surrounding him, it's surrounding him to fuck him, it's holding him and keeping him and _filling_ him and he wants to beg for it to move, for it to do SOMETHING, but there's no resisting it and the surface tension has made that quite clear.

He's stuck. Captive. At the slime's mercy. Like a toy, stuck and fully on display. Electricity riots down his spine at the thought, another mental hot stove he's always avoided, but. But. But what if, is the thing. Taako of all people could indulge _that_. He makes an embarrassing little squeak.

Taako puts his clipboard down. He’s not gonna have anything else productive to think for a minute, probably; it’s taking all of the self-control he’s cultivated over centuries to keep himself from hopping off the table and dragging those noises from Kravitz _himself_.

The dragon, for its part, presses Kravitz down against its tail, releasing his hips far enough that it can press the part of it that makes up a cock against him, teasing. It’s slightly less soft than the rest of the creature, ridged and heavy and carefully sculpted, and it pauses there, waiting.

“Chances are it wants a go-ahead here,” Taako says. His voice is rough.

"Yeah, uh, yeah, yeah, it, um, yes please? Please do, uh, go. Keep going. More, actually, would be, nice," Kravitz babbles, frozen in place and helpless to please himself. He couldn't stroke himself if he tried. And fuck, the _weight_! The pressure! The, the, the fucking--artistry! Kravitz might cry. He hopes not, but.

"Do, um, whatever you want to me."

The dragon reacts to his words, presses into him slow and steady at first to let him get used to the feeling of it, strange and heavy and not _quite_ stretching him like another toy would. Softer, somehow, but filling him up.

Taako’s biting his lip, staring at Kravitz with his pupils blown out of their usual slits. “Got—gotta say,” he murmurs, “this is a good look for you.”

Kravitz loses track of the universe, his whole experience narrowed down to just how _full_ he is, how right and natural and easy it feels, soft and heavy and insistent. It doesn't hurt, quite the opposite, and he has no control over the wild, deep noises that escape him.

He's done with the banter. He's on another plane of existence completely.

"More- please- _fuck_ -I-"

It's all just sounds, nearly meaningless. His body has turned into a live network of nerves, his only purpose is feeling. He's alive, alive and stuck and on display, vulnerable and controlled and watched over, desperate and needy and messy and safe, and it's so, so, so right.

Kravitz is perfect. Taako has never been more frustrated by not interfering with science; there’s nothing he’d like more than to drag his hands across Kravitz’s chest and croon words of praise in his ear until he falls apart for _him_ , for _Taako_ ,—

That line of thinking’s not productive. Instead, Taako shakes his head and pays careful attention to the way the slime surrounds and carries him, to the attention it gives his cock and the way it reacts to his begging. At this point it’s stopped teasing him completely, the urge to wring his climax out of him (correctly) taking priority over anything else.

Taako tilts his head and scribbles a note without looking down. Hopefully it’s legible.

Kravitz pushes against, or maybe into? The slime, desperate for and gaining no control or traction. But that just makes it better. He doesn't have to worry about it. Everything is going to be taken care of. Taako will make sure he feels good. Taako will take care of everything. Taako will take care of him. He makes something approximating eye contact and just smiles, completely and totally blissed out.

As he finally relaxes, Kravitz comes, pure satisfied relief above all else. He's boneless and weak and unaware of the noises he's making and so fulfilled he would have trouble spelling his own name at the moment. The slime surrounding him is so comfortable, so perfect. He belongs here in this strange embrace. He could do this over and over again....

Taako could do this to him over and over again. He _might_. But, for the time being, the dragon holds him as he comes down before deactivating, gently dropping him onto the floor of the little pool and returning to what is essentially a puddle of goo.

Taako steps forward to steady him, catching him by the shoulders and giving him a little squeeze.

“That was perfect, babe,” he murmurs. “How you feeling?”

Kravitz doesn't remember how to stand and doesn't particularly care to, so he leans heavily on Taako. It feels like a good place to be. He's shaking a little bit, and it makes him laugh, for some reason.

"Yeah," he says, nonsensically. "Mhm...." The air feels strangely cold now, and all he wants is for Taako to hold him.

Taako kisses his hair. The slime mostly re-conglomerates when it collapses, but there’s a little left on Kravitz’s skin, giving it a faint iridescent look—it’s gorgeous, actually, and Taako tamps down the urge to kiss it off.

“You want somethin’ to drink, babe? You look a little woozy, there.”

Kravitz just smiles at him. He had knees once, right?

"Whatever you've got. S'fine. Babe." And then he giggles, like some kind of idiot. The more rational part of Kravitz looks on in horror, and the touch-starved side cheers from the sidelines for him to milk Taako's attention for all it's worth while he still can.

And that sounds so nice. Maybe Taako has a couch or something they can just cuddle on. Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako's middle and presses his face against Taako's shoulder. Kissing his hair....Taako has some nerve while Kravitz is already so weak. He's an impulse and a half from proclaiming his undying love.

"You did a very good dragon," he murmurs instead, appreciating of all things how good Taako's neck smells. Oh, to be a vampire, Kravitz's chaotic horny imagination throws up, apparently never satisfied. Kravitz isn't sure Taako can manufacture that particular fantasy. .......Yet?

Taako laughs, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him up. “You’re adorable. C’mere, there’s—“

He waves his free hand vaguely at a nearby mimic, which obligingly shifts into a big couch for him, then leads Kravitz to it, careful of slippery feet on a stone floor. Most of his attention is on the cute gorgeous weirdo in his arms, but Taako still has enough control to get one of his auxiliary creatures to get him a bottle of water.

He settles comfortably into the couch, arranging Kravitz sort of half on top of him—his chest is soft, let the boy rest his head—and kissing his hair again. “You did great, handsome, thank you.”

"Thank you," Kravitz says, just short of babbling. "I happen, to be, _very_ good, at following directions." He arranges himself haphazardly on Taako, on Taako's lap, in Taako's arms, warm and tingling and boneless and happy. His brain will come back online soon, sometime soon, but he's never, ever experienced anything like that before. He's been attacked by monsters, of course, but never....anything like this.

He looks up affectionately at Taako, like he hung the stars in the sky and taught them how to dance, and he dreams of waltzing among them together in a champagne haze on a far-off day. He could live in this moment forever. He's tired, worn to the bone, but he can float here for a while and rest his wayward spirit.

“You are _excellent_ at following directions,” Taako murmurs, stroking his hair gently. His purr is starting up again, unbidden, an instinctive response to this happy messy creature lying in his arms. He’s so cute. Kravitz is so cute and Taako is so _fucked_ , even beyond the lazy arousal still curled in his belly; he can deal with _that_ , it’s this strange fierce tenderness that scares him, the urge to pet him and kiss his face and murmur helpless compliments into his skin. He’s in so deep.

A tendril hands him the water bottle and he carefully flicks off the top, offering it to Kravitz. If he takes it Taako will let him, but if he’s still woozy he’s more than willing to help.

Kravitz's hands are still shaking, but despite his inexperience with _this_ , he's tougher than he looks. He takes the bottle and a long drink to follow, only getting some of it all over his chest. He hands it in the general direction of back and closes his eyes, reveling in that bizarre and comforting feeling of Taako's purring.

"Did you get good data?" He's hoarse, but he honestly likes the husky note it gives his voice. It sort of makes him want to sing. He wonders if Taako would tolerate that. "Helpful research?"

“Hell yeah,” Taako says, taking a swig himself. “That one’s deffo ready to ship, and I can _probably_ justify makin’ it available for sale normally instead of just on commission. Might turn down the tentativity a smidge, but past that, fantastic.”

He pauses, enjoying the rough sound of Kravitz’s voice. He wants to swirl it around like a fine red wine and get absolutely fucking wasted on it, wants to be loose and happy and drenched in a sweet man’s well-fucked rasp.

Hm. Okay, it’s _possible_ he’s still horny. He ignores it.

“You got any feedback? Anything weird, or not quite smooth, or anything you especially thought went well?”

"Oh no, not at all. Compared to the other times I've been fucked stupid by dragons..."  
  
Kravitz laughs at his own joke and, on a whim, pull Taako down to him in a little kiss. Smiles. "Excellent work. Just. Very good. Felt good. Worked good. Might have trouble walking tomorrow...is that a bug or a feature?"

Taako laughs, returning the kiss before putting another one on his nose, and then his forehead, and then his cheeks and his hair and his lips again. He is _unstoppable_.

“I’m glad it was good. And I think I do actually have a product that helps alleviate that, if it still seems like it’ll be a problem in, like...an hour or so? Let me know what you want.”

"Might not," Kravitz kisses back what he can reach, delighting in the onslaught. "Might, might not hurt to be, a little sore, you know? I mean..." He makes a gesture with his finger like he's waiting for his brain to load.

"I mean, it would hurt, but like. You know. You know? To, you know. Reminder."

He flushes, having trouble listening to himself talk. Sure he laid himself bare in a kiddie pool of fuck slime, but admitting a few bruises to remember him by under his suit tomorrow will give him little shivers all day? Just embarrassing. Their whole relationship is starting to feel like Candyland, and Kravitz got jumped nearly to the end in the first three rounds. Normal milestones mean nothing here. Are they going to go backwards at some point and play twenty questions, or are they hurling rapidly toward the infinite expanse of something bigger?

Kravitz needs a bath.

Taako laughs softly. “Whatever you want. Anything else you wanna do right now? A snack, a shower, whatever? My big fancy bathroom is open to you, if you so desire.”

He runs his fingers through Kravitz’s hair, still purring. “Hey, you’re great,” he says, quiet. Then; “ _Oh!!_ And I forgot, I promised I’d give you free stuff for helping me out with testing! Keep it in mind, okay? Think about what you’d wanna try out.”

"Mmmmmmm." Kravitz would like a few things, but he doesn't want to make. Too much of an impression. Then again, Taako just tried to bribe him again for......having a good time? Kravitz doesn't even want to run that math. But.

"A bath." He runs his fingers over the paint spots on Taako's understated....outfit. It's almost weirder than seeing him in his underwear, in these plain clothes and no accessories. He figures he knows why, but it's still....intimate. Personal.Vulnerable. Also? Comfy. Taako's thighs are soft.

Surely he models his own stockings....from time to time.

"Let me...throw some spaghetti. Not spaghetti, that sounds awful. Mmmm. Donuts. Anyway, I have an idea." Kravitz takes Taako's hand, turns it over, appreciates it in the light. He's so pretty. Kravitz kisses the soft part of his inner wrist, like a prince from a fairytale, except wrecked and slimy and already in Taako's lap.

"Let me...................take care of you."

Taako’s heart does a flip at the reverent way Kravitz presses his lips to his wrist, and he’s speechless for a moment, _breathless_ , knocked out by how wonderful Kravitz is. It takes even longer than that to process what he _said_ , and his brain cycles through _oh I should try and make donuts sometime_ to _he’s so cute_ to _**wait**_. _Cycle back. He Wants._

“I—if you mean—okay!” His voice pitches in a way he’s not thrilled with, but he’s experiencing a lot right now and Kravitz doesn’t have a leg to judge on in the flustered department.

Kravitz smiles, nice and slow, luxuriating in the opportunity to get back to operating speed. He still feels boneless and well-used, but he's catching up with the rotation of the planet again. Taako is so pretty, eyes wide like that. His tongue. Adjective. Adjective. Simile. What a good, good boy.

"Now, or rain check?" Kravitz plays with Taako's hand, tracing his veins and callouses with studious, affectionate fingers. "I hope I'm not too out of practice. I used to be very good at it." His face is remembering how to do words again, and like a slot machine spitting out the jackpot, shiny bullshit just keeps spitting out. Hopefully Taako feels like he's won something worth pocketing. "I don't have a lot of natural talents, and fewer opportunities to use them, but back when I was a bit more...socially active, I wasn't half bad."

“Mm, you’re _wonderful_ ,” Taako murmurs, mind flicking helpfully to the previous night. His sense of touch has narrowed to Kravitz’s fingers, to the perfect gentle exploration against his palms. “Now would be great, if you want.”

"Give me a bit to. Roll over." Kravitz has a hard time moving, comfortable as he is. Taako feels like a good place to be. He rubs his cheek against Taako, feeling foolish, like some giant housecat, but this is so.... nice.

"Mmm....I like your outfit. It's good. It's real good."

He pushes himself up a bit, still a bit unsteady. But it feels good to lean against Taako again, and he lets himself enjoy it. They have time, he reminds himself. They have time.

Taako scritches his scalp, smiling helplessly down at him. “You’re adorable.”

At Kravitz’ compliment, he blinks down at himself. “Oh, thanks—it’s just-it’s what I wear for, like, decorating work and stuff, these shorts are mad comfy. Gotta admit it is weird to not be wearing like thirty bracelets though.”

"You could make anything look good," Kravitz sighs, so comfortable he almost feels like he's doing something wrong. He could lay here forever in Taako's arms, guided by a warm light he barely knows. It's tenuous and beautiful and ephemeral, and since he can't bottle it up and keep it on a shelf, he'll do what it takes to make it a memory. Even if something happens, even if this doesn't last, he wants Taako to remember him.

After a long breather, Kravitz's bones remember how to function and help him ease into a more tactical position. It's awkward, staying on the couch, ass in the air, but he's comfortable here, and thinks he may have trouble getting up off the floor if he knelt there, and his brain goes electric at the thought of Taako sprawled out, blissful, throwing a leg over him to keep him in place....

"...May I?"

Taako lets Kravitz relax, stroking his hair half on instinct. Nobody doesn’t like having their hair pet, that’s science.

When Kravitz moves, Taako shifts to let him, his tail flicking happily. He’s so _cute_.

“‘Course. Should I, uh, lose the shorts, or...?”

"Whatever you like," Kravitz says, smiling to his core. He aches to get those hands back in his hair and keep them for eternity. "You're in charge."

It would probably be easier for him to toss them while he still has leverage, though, and Kravitz teasingly unzips them to help him decide. They're so short, and his fingers find where the cuffs dig into Taako's softness, his heart giving an ugly squeeze and his arousal fanning the flames once again.

Taako laughs, wiggling awkwardly to tug them off, taking his underwear with them. It’ll be easier that way.

“Not my most graceful maneuver,” he laughs, settling back into a comfy position on the couch. “But, you know.”

The tendrils making up his dick have already unsheathed, and they twist around his fingers when he goes to stroke them into one tentacle rather than several. Taako takes a shaky little breath before murmuring, “Y-your move, darlin.’”

"Scientific interest?" Kravitz teases, as if something hot and insistent hadn't just grabbed him by the guts and laid out his plans for the afternoon in minute detail.

Kravitz almost asks for permission again, but. This seems invitation enough. By vampire rules, he's already in. He can't help himself but take it slow though, sliding his fingers against where the tendrils sheathe and making a soft noise of appreciation. Taako's beautiful, and so alien, so perfect and special. Kravitz shakes away a twinge of jealousy with the reminder that this can be for him, that he gets to play here, appreciate every nook and cranny and let Taako know just how he felt before.

He dips his head down, as if in prayer, and kisses Taako's fingers where they hold the tendrils together, the sticky taste lighting up his tongue.

Taako’s tentacles cling to Kravitz’s fingers when he strokes through them, twisting rapidly when he kisses his fingers. Taako shivers.

“Mm, you’re—you’re awfully cute down there,” he says, voice rough with laughter and arousal. He tangles the fingers of his other hand through Kravitz’s hair, not gripping so much as petting. “So pretty. So _good_.”

Kravitz shivers and sincerely hopes he isn't drooling. Then again, what shame should he still have at this point? He's not even sure he can get all of the tendrils in his mouth if they continue to twist like that, but fuck if he doesn't want to try.

He moves closer, gently gripping Taako's thigh for leverage and dipping his head further. Warm.... He runs his tongue along one, smiling at the way it reacts to his touch.

Taako shivers, trying to get them to form into one again. He’s scattered, right now, all disastrously gay and endeared, but he manages after a moment.

“F-for the record,” he says, “everythin’ down there is available, if you wanna—wanna finger me or whatever.”

He figures that was probably self-evident, given how wet he is, but it never hurts to mention. _Gods_ , Taako’s delighted with this boy’s mouth.

"Good to know," Kravitz says, before taking the whole multi-tentacle in his mouth. He's good at this. He just has to focus and not, think about it. Sure it's been a while, except for Before, but his body remembers. The slickness is tantalizing and he's not completely sure what to do with his hands, but he slips a finger inside Taako and slowly feels the inside of him, still amazed at how his body works. He starts to move his head, teasing the grooves where the tendrils meet with his tongue. It's a bizarre sensation, but he loves it, and judging by Taako's reaction, he isn't alone.

Taako gasps, curling in on himself and burying his other hand in Kravitz’s hair as well. His ears flick wildly.

“That—that’s good, good boy,” he says. He can’t ramp down the twisting entirely, only enough to keep from gagging him; Kravitz is _good_ at this, even considering how odd Taako is. “‘Mazing.”

 _Good boy_. It rings in Kravitz's ears and settles in among the jello between them. Taako thinks he's good. It's all he can do not to giggle, giddy with the headrush of it. The movement, the twisting--it's bizarre, but he loves it. It's like he can taste just how much he's riled Taako up. Success. Skilled fingers twist into him, not used to...this exactly, but clever under pressure and naturally inclined to please. He can't exactly get a word in, but he hums his pleasure around a mouthful of Taako.

Taako shudders, his purr kicking back up in his chest. It’s not just that Kravitz is hot as hell—which he _is_ —but that he’s so _sweet_ , so eager to please and to try and to _give_ , and it should probably worry Taako that he feels so safe with him after so little time, but-

But. He’s tough. He’s old and he’s strong and he has no _reason_ to question this. No reason to be afraid. Kravitz is _good_ , and he wants _Taako_ to feel good, and it’s absolutely working.

“Feels wonderful,” Taako manages. “‘M lucky to have you, sweet boy.”

 _Good boy. Sweet boy_. Kravitz almost feels in danger of turning into a golden retriever on the spot and wagging himself to an early death. As it is, a stilted purr is escaping his throat, an embarrassing, unused, rusty version of Taako's own harmony. He's only half elf, and it's not nearly so natural for him, not to mention it makes him self-conscious. But he literally can't stop himself. It's just too good.

Taako _gasps_ when his purr starts, jolting in place. He’s so good. The kisses have him laughing, carding his fingers through Kravitz’s hair with a matching purr of his own.

Kravitz pulls off a bit to catch his breath, messy and grinning, chest heaving, and he almost says something witty and finds himself at a loss for words and air to make them. Instead he kisses the insides of Taako's thighs, delicate at first and then reckless, enthusiastic, sucking warm red marks like Xes on a dozen treasure maps.

“You’re cute, you know that?”

Kravitz presses his face against the pillow of Taako's thigh and laughs softly in response. The purr stops and starts, uncontrollable and messy, but he's just so pleased it doesn't matter.

"Of course I know it," he says, trying for aloof and sounding straight up giddy. For his next trick he's going to break into giggles. "But it's nice to hear once in a while."

He dips back to work like a slutty hummingbird and takes Taako again, not holding back this time. This is great, it's fun, but he's ready to cuddle and lie down for a very long time. He thinks he can push Taako over the edge pretty quickly.

He’s not wrong. Taako laughs again, breathlessly, rolling his hips up to meet him.

“ _So_ cute,” he murmurs. It doesn’t take much to push him to the edge—he’s been close for a bit—and he buries both hands in Kravitz’s curls, a sharp, whining breath that makes his purr stutter in his chest.

He flops back against the couch, still laughing softly, and vaguely tries to tug Kravitz up to meet him. “C’mere.”

Kravitz lets out a soft little noise and licks his lips, plump and sensitive. He's tired, all the way to his dastardly bones, and he would do anything, anything at all right now if Taako asked him sweetly. Ghost peppers? Tax fraud? He's there.

This is a lot easier, though, and he wiggles his way into Taako's zone, happy to let him play architect to their cuddle pile. He's happy. It's striking, honestly, how happy he is, how strange it feels. Like it would shine out of his teeth like little disco balls, radiate from every freckle like a smattering constellation of glow in the dark stars. Home. Loved. Well used, worn out, pleased as punch. It's been so long since he felt anything approaching this happiness that he would, and will, fling himself directly into the burning sun of whatever this relationship will turn out to be. No matter how long it lasts until the warmth rends itself to ashes, it'll be worth it.

"Good enough?" he quips, pleasant weariness escaping on his tongue.

“ _Wonderful_ ,” Taako confirms, stealing a kiss. “You wanna catch some zees? ‘S been a hell of an afternoon for you, huh.”

Kravitz’s weight on top of him is soothing. He should _probably_ work the store some today, but Taako really can’t be fucked to let go of the cute boy that just blew his mind to go sit behind a counter and pretend to enjoy the company of weird assholes that think they have the right to yell at him for every little thing. He winds his arms around him with a contented sigh.

"Mmm, what? Can't hear you. Too busy falling asleep on my _boyfriend_." Kravitz laughs to himself softly and snuggles in close, his core echoing warmth and happiness in soothing waves. A nasty little part of him feels bad for taking Taako away from his business--if he doesn't run it, who will? If the store isn't open, he certainly won’t turn a profit-- but. Everybody deserves to take a day off, and Kravitz is, in his own humble opinion, worth it. Besides, Taako is an adult and he's been a business owner for--? Gods know how long. He's probably got this in hand.

In hand. Kravitz snorts at his own joke.

“Dork. Sweet dreams,” Taako says, curling his tail around Kravitz’s ankle. He mumbles an incantation that grows the couch out slightly, one he’d set up during a particularly frantic time when he started spending nights in his workshop.

He kisses his forehead, giving in to being cozy. “Jus’... just a quick nap, for Taako. Just a nap. You’re too cute and good to hug to not nap with.”

"'M a pretty good boy, yeah...." Kravitz nestles in, exhaustion settling in on the molecular level and taking him hostage. It feels good to fall asleep here, in Taako's embrace, fully encompassed in his attention. It feels good. So good.


	7. Trial Seven--Aftercare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all the excitement, our two favorite boys rest, and cuddle, and shower, and cuddle, and eat sandwiches, and cuddle,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didja miss us?? here comes a fluffy update! A fluffdate! Man, if you want a fluff date, just you wait... 
> 
> Please!!! Leave us your delicious comments to fuel our physical forms, power our starships, and navigate this mortal coil!

It doesn't wind up being a particularly quick nap, all told; they wake up almost two hours later. It's a good thing they started relatively early, given that even with their nap it's only maybe one-thirty when Taako comes to. He nudges Kravitz gently.

"Hey, babe," he says, "don't know about you, but I'm sticky and kind of hungry, you want somethin' to eat or, like, a shower?"

"Wmnrrbh." Kravitz mumbles, burrowing back into what's left of the warmth, reluctant to return to the world of the living. "Mmmnnghhhgggggggghhh." It takes time to process, and it sounds nice, but he's starting to feel the soreness settle in and he would much rather be catered to than slog through the calisthenics of getting up and walking to the kitchen.

Taako snorts. “Yeah? You don’t say.”

He considers his options for a long moment, then shrugs. Fuck it. With a languid stretch, three of the magical tendrils he’s integrated into his body phase back into reality, wrapping loosely around Kravitz so that he can easily hoist him into the air when he stands. “-Hup. C’mon, sleepyhead.”

"Yessssir." Kravitz rubs at his eyes like a child would, and he yawns, great and long. He feels sticky and over-warm and underdressed and...content.

"Wha's on the menu?" he asks, admiring the strong tentacles taking hold of him. They're cute. They're....Taako's? Kravitz will never cease to be amazed by that.

Taako hums, wandering up the stairs at a relaxed sort of pace. Kravitz is too cute. It’s illegal. He should go to jail, and by go to jail Taako means get more kisses. 

“Mm, I dunno! I could doooo pasta or sandwiches or some kind of salad? I might have the trappin’s for burgers, not sure.”

Kravitz leans in and kisses him, happy and by no means concerned with their trek upward or their goal therein.

"Whatever, whatever. 'M sure it'll be great if you make it." He toys with the tips of the tentacles holding him, affectionate and bemused. Kravitz imagines a future, or maybe an alternate future like this, being Taako's kept boy and spoiled to the gills. He can't help but smile.

“Hmm, sandwiches are easy, let’s do that. You want roast beef or chicken? I’d offer you caprese but we did that last night.” Taako's ears flick happily, the kiss making him smile. “Speakin’ of, you want to take advantage of my big fancy bathroom again? Can’t imagine you’ll be comfy with drying goop for too long.”

"Oh, right. Right. Right." Kravitz rubs at his neck, thinking about what that shit will do to his hair. "I'd better. But I don't want you to just...have to make food on your own." 

Not that Krav would be any use, especially with his legs still made of jelly. Actually, it may be more useful for him to stay out of the way. 

"Do you mind?"

Taako kisses his temple in response, putting him down carefully on the kitchen floor. He doesn’t quite let him go, though, instead wraps his arms around his chest and drops his head against his shoulder. He’s probably gonna get slime in his hair, but it’s not like that would be a first for him. 

“Yeah, go ahead and take a bit if you want,” he says contentedly, making no move to let go of him. “I could put together sandwiches in my sleep. Gonna need your choice of filling, though, darling.”

"Oh, um. Either is fine. Chicken? Whatever." Being so close to Taako...it feels good. Kravitz embraces Taako right back, content to get in one more solid cuddle. He could get used to this. Maybe he already has. "Is everything alright, Taako?" A bath sounds so good. Kravitz might be afraid of falling asleep in the tub...

“Mmmhmm,” Taako mumbles. “You’re. Cute. Good for hugging.”

After a drawn-out moment he finally pulls away, tugging Kravitz down into a kiss before he takes a step back. “I might come join you if you’re still in the tub after I make ‘em. Cool?”

"Yepsolutely." Kravitz practically chirps, kissing him right back. He toddles to his feet and scratches a bit, aware of just how unclothed he is, but...it's just Taako. And Taako ought to appreciate the view. 

"Sounds food. Good, I mean. And. Yeah. Seeeeeeeeee. You soon." He plants another kiss on Taako's temple and heads for the bathroom, still swaying a little.

Hate to see him leave but looove to watch him go. Taako takes a second to appreciate Kravitz’s ass before shaking his head, laughing, and going to lay out some ingredients. He’s humming, his tail swaying happily, and he realizes belatedly that he’s still not wearing any pants.

Oh, well.

Kravitz draws himself a bath and soaks in the hot water until he can make a nice broth from his own bones. It takes a lot of elbow grease to try that dragon crap out of his hair, but it gives him a chance to reflect and...... he.....really did that. He did it for nothing, too, to impress Taako, to take a walk on the wild side and....he loved it. He could write a dozen books about it. He can't wait to see what else Taako cooks up next and he can't imagine hesitating nearly so long the next time.

Taako doesn’t take too long; he’s quick enough that once he’s done in the kitchen that he feels comfortable hip-checking the bathroom door open and finally shucking his tank top. 

“Hey, babe, room for one more? Or do you want some Kravitz time?”

"Mmmmhmm." Kravitz is well steamed and surrounded by more bubbles than one man particularly needs, but he looks incredibly happy. He'd almost forgotten Taako was coming, but it's a pleasant surprise. 

"Come on in, the water's fine." Kravitz pats the bubbles beside him welcoming and gives Taako a sleepy but cheeky smile.

Taako slips into the water next to him, sighing happily at the warmth. He slings one knee over Kravitz’s.

“You look cozy.”

"Very cozy. You look pleased." Kravitz puts an arm around Taako and sinks back in where he was comfortable. He can imagine doing this all the time....

He would be late to work every day. 

Maybe he could start showering at night?

“I am pleased,” Taako says, nuzzling his cheek. “I got a handsome dude in my bathtub and some tasty sandwiches in the kitchen and I’m done testing a big project. Today’s great.”

He tips his head to soak his hair, dragging fingers through it to get rid of what slime was still there.

"Yeah." Kravitz helps him out a bit, not terribly effectual but at the very least affectionately playing with his hair. "What, um. How do you. Err." He's not even sure what he's asking. Maybe he should play it safe. "What are you testing next?"

Taako can’t help leaning into the touch with a mrr. Hands...hair. Good. Pet. Keep petting him. Good and warm. 

It takes him a second to process the words. “Oh, uhh. If you wanna try out that one that adheres to your skin like clothes, it has fun and sexy functionality if you like.”

"Sure, whatever you like." Kravitz plays with Taako's hair and signs away his body flippantly. Taako can do with him as he likes. It's a hell of a lot of trust to put in someone he barely knows, but Kravitz figures they've bypassed a few stages here and there. They've certainly bypassed the small talk phase. 

"What else are you working on? It looks like you had a lot, in there, you know, on your....mind."

Taako is fully pushing his head into Kravitz’s hand at this point, purring uncontrollably. 

“Mmmmostly....mos’ly just improvements on stuff I’ve done before,” he says, “but, like— there’s one with suction cups, one that can form what basically mimics the feel of a mouth, there’s that hand thing but don’t worry I wouldn’t inflict that on you-mm, Krav, feels nice. ‘M gonna melt.”

"You like that?" Kravitz smiles, warm inside and out and in love with the softer side of Taako. With all of him really, not that he needs to say that out loud. He's just so.........good. 

"Whatever, anything. We, I guess we can talk more when we get there, I don't even- I don't know how I'd, don't laugh at me...I don't even know how I'd start to use some of those things? I've barely even.... I....not that I've spent a lot of time, you know, I don't even really have....a vibrator, or, you- you know, any of those other- things-"

Now he's fucked himself into a corner again....

Taako’s purring too hard to do much else, a steady rumble in his chest. “Mmhmmm.”

Then he blinks, pulling back just slightly. “Wait, really? Dude, let me hook you up. Wha’evr you want.”

"I-" Just go back to the purring. That's so much easier. How can Kravitz fix this. 

"I don't even know where I'd start, I, don't really- I mean- I never really had, a lot of, you know-" Kravitz flushes even thinking about it. He clears his throat. "Toys. Um. Like that. I- I had a- you know, a." Come on, man. "A few. Things, but nothing outside of...a variety pack...I got on...the internet." It's not that hard to say dildo. 

Maybe it is. 

"I- don't mean to disappoint you especially after all we went through and your- the- what I bought from you and the dragon and- all that- but I- really don't have that much experience with those sorts of things so honestly you would have to show me the ropes even to- know. Where. To start." 

Kravitz coughs and looks anywhere but at Taako, feeling his earlier confidence deflate like a wet cartoon balloon. Any credit he earned fucking a slime dragon in a swimming pool has since gone down the drain of literally only owns a dildo and can't even say that much and straight into the hell of wouldn't even know how to use the stuff if he could name it out loud.

Taako blinks sleepily. Kravitz is distressed, which makes his attention-hungry animal brain distressed, but he tamps it down enough that all he does is nuzzle his chin, his purr turning soothing more than dreamy. He’ll have time to read into how emotionally invested he is in this weird boy later. 

“You’re fiiine,” Taako says. He reaches out, scrabbling for one of Kravitz’s hands so he can squeeze it. “You’re not disappointing me. Hell, this just means that A), I can get opinions on stuff from somebody without notions and Two, I can make sure you get that good shit if y’want it. Do wanna give you a better dildo though, internet variety pack toys are fun but boring.”

Kravitz feels a lot like steamed broccoli, but his affection for Taako grows exponentially. 

"I have very few notions about any of those things," he says, like that's a thing worth puffing out his chest about. He doesn't key into the disappointing bit, but that'll be something to probe into like a missing tooth over and over again before he falls asleep tonight. "I- Um. I don't- Where would you even....suggest I start? I mean-" He takes a deep breath and tries to steady himself. "I know I like, a lot of things, I just, worried about ordering them, or, I don't know, using them....by myself." Like. 

"Well like." Go on, coward. You don't get to play if you don't ask. "Restraints. For. Example. "

Taako hums, bumping his face against his chin again. He’s so cute. Taako likes him so much.

“That’s a question w’ a bunch of different possible answers,” he says, fully into Kravitz’s lap. “Easiest one, get someone--ideally in this case a cute and charming elf who may or may not be holding hands with you right now-to help out, but if you’re nervous and wanna try by yourself first the easiest things are either to use something like the restraints you were pokin’ at when you first came by, which have an automatic off if you say red, or doing ties with rope or cuffs that are within reach of your hands. So, like, just your legs, or some kinds of shibari that don’t stop the wearer from getting out, or if the linking chains aren’t real short it’s possible to get out of wrist cuffs, et cetera-shit that can give you the feeling of restriction without putting yourself in a situation you actually can’t get out of.”

He pauses for a moment, then brings Kravitz’s hand up to kiss it. “And, hey, just for the record, you can ask me about this stuff anytime, okay? No worrying that you’re weirding me out or whatever. I like you. I wanna spend time with you. Plus, I know a lot about this stuff.”

Kravitz just smiles at him, feeling mushy and lovesick and totally in over his head and happy to be there. Taako is so good, he's so cute and he's so much and he's so- Kravitz wants to say big, but that's not it. Reliable? Accepting? Knowledgeable? Kravitz just feels safe in a completely unknown way when it comes to this one, sitting in his lap all cheeky and purring like he belongs there for the majority of eternity. 

"I don't know about...doing it myself. I feel like I couldn't trick myself into feeling like it was the real deal, and- I don't know, that would...cheapen it somehow? I- I'm sorry, it's not like you're an advice columnist, or, what have you, I just-" Kravitz!!!! Kravitz, your listening comprehension is so low! He exhales, trying to make himself stop tripping over his own feet. "I mean- sorry. I'm not used to being....this open about. These sorts of things. You seem like a real expert on all this. It's- It's hard to stop worrying, and I- it's not about you, I promise, I just. It's going. To take. Some time. To. Communicate....this...sort of thing. Without sounding like a big idiot I am so sorry. Can I just- I need to be more direct I'm sure this is driving you insane. Will you just fucking- tie me up. Please. Not right now- I'm not demanding you hog tie me and have your way with me in the bathtub I'm simply suggesting that possibly in the future it would be enjoyable to perhaps maybe playtest some bondage scenarios with my kind and elegant elf expert friend. Who. Happened. To offer such a possibility." 

Kravitz is going to climb in the toilet and flush himself.

Taako laughs, but it’s soft. Usually his laughter is loud and obnoxious and a little bit mocking, but this is just affectionate, warm in an unguarded way. 

“Of course I will. I’d love to. Tying up an extremely handsome man and having my way with him sounds just great. And, my dude —it would be fine to sound like a big idiot, but you don’t, you sound like a guy nervous about trying something new, which is also fine. I’m not mad at you for being nervous or whatever, I just wanna make it clear that it’s okay to ask me shit. Requests, hypotheticals, questions about the arcane functionality of my stuff--it’s all fine. Promise.” 

Even though some rational part of Kravitz knew he would hear something like that, it's an incredible relief to hear it out loud, reassured despite his nervous, rambling bullshit. If Taako was sick of him, he'd have heard about it by now. Taako is by no means shy about his opinions. 

And that--it feels good. It feels incredibly safe and--it holds so much potential. Taako's voice, his words, his expression and his laugh, it all feels so calming and reassuring that Kravitz almost can't believe it. He can't help but smile, slow and small and sweet, and he kisses Taako, a thank you he can't put into words without sounding like more of a rambling fool. All of this--it's new, but it's good, and he isn't about to risk not getting to play in this space. Not with someone like Taako on his hands, who can probably take him apart in an instant and leave him a satisfied mess.

Taako melts into the kiss, his purr returning in full force. Kravitz is so good. He’s so good and nice and Taako likes him so fucking much. Lup is gonna take one look at him and know immediately that he got his just desserts after all those years of teasing and fell for a nerd. 

Oh well. Worth it. He wraps soft arms around Kravitz’s shoulders and kisses him slowly, adoringly. 

Then, “Oh, shit, I spaced,” he says, “You’ve gotta be hungry. I came in here to tell you the sandwiches were done--they’re under a stasis spell, though, so if you wanna get a lil’ raisiny there’s nothing stopping us.”

Kravitz can barely breathe, and then there's that, and suddenly he's laughing harder than he thought possible. It breaks the tension like Godzilla tripping over telephone lines and Kravitz can't help but cover Taako in uncontrollable little kisses of appreciation, a normal and appropriate response to such things. 

"No, I, um. I think I'm raisin enough. I'll rinse off and come enjoy your sandwiches. We can boil together another time, if you want." 

He grins and moves, relieved to be back somewhere comfortable enough to fight back Taako's quips. He's going to be a cool and casual boyfriend yet.

Kravitz’ laughter proves infectious, and Taako is giggling uncontrollably by the time he’s done being kiss-attacked. 

“Boy soup for another day,” Taako says, trying for solemn and missing by maybe a lightyear. “Sandwiches for now.”

"Boy soup and sandwiches!" Kravitz dissolves into giggles again, smitten. No one in his life talks like that, ever. It's so pleasant and bizarre for someone to actually play with him like this. 

"Yes, let's- I just-" He smiles at Taako, sunshine pouring out of his face, and he lets a little bit extra slip out."Taako, I really, really, really, really like you." Hopefully he's not coming on too strong.

Taako catches him in a quick, sweet kiss. It’s a little clumsy on account of the uncontrollable grin on his face, but that’s fine. 

“What a coincidence,” he laughs. “I really, really, really, really like you.”

It takes willpower to extricate himself from their hug, but Taako manages to clamber out of the tub and offer Kravitz a hand up. “C’mon, cutie.”

"If you insist." 

Kravitz, still smiling helplessly, takes his hand, and pulls himself out of the bath. Figuring Taako might need a rinse too, even though most of Krav's bubbles have gone the way of the dinosaurs, he turns the shower on real quick. He yelps--it's freezing.

Taako snorts, stepping under the spray as it warms up. “You okay there, babe?”

He rinses his hair, paying special attention to the tuft on his tail, then steps back to lean against the wall where he has a good angle to appreciate how hot Kravitz is. Which is very. He’s very hot. Taako is mesmerized by the curve of his back.

Still protecting his delicate bits while trying to release the final bubbles, Kravitz almost looks straight out of a romantic comedy. It's so easy to picture him in a farcical situation, completely naked, junk obscured only by a....fruit bowl, or stuffed toy, or something. It doesn't matter. It's going on the vision board. 

Kravitz hurries to get clean, feeling Taako's eyes on him and not wanting to keep him waiting. It's still strange just...exposing himself in someone else's home, but, there's a precedent, and...Well. Taako probably doesn't mind. Kravitz towels himself off and wraps it around his waist to preserve some semblance of dignity. 

"You know, um." Kravitz says, feeling incredibly silly. "Come to think of it, I should have, uh, brought a change of clothes."

Taako takes a moment to mourn the loss of butt visibility. So long, space cowbutt. He’s still smiling, though, because he can’t seem to stop; he’s genuinely so fucking happy.

“Hm,” he says, tapping his lip. “Well, I could lend you somethin’ of mine, but you’re taller than me. Your clothes should still be fine, though, since you took ‘em off before you got slimed. Want me to grab them? I’ve got limbs everywhere around here.”

To demonstrate, a tendril folds out of the far wall and waves before vanishing again.

"That's. Amazing. How do you do that? Isn't it overwhelming?" Man, Kravitz didn't really think about that. Honestly it's a relief, although.... 

Taako shrugs, blinking once to glance at his workshop and make sure he’s grabbing the right thing. “It’s an incremental sort of thing, I guess. Like how babies have trouble controlling all their fingers and toes and stuff, except I added these to the shop one at a time and got used to ‘em as I did, you feel? It’s a little hard to explain, but.”

"I wouldn't mind taking a tour through your closet. I like your aesthetic." Kravitz adds a bit late, thoughtfully.

Taako pauses, raising an eyebrow. “You can for sure look through my many scarves and tassels and shit, but maybe eat first, you did have a hell of a workout.”

Kravitz smiles.

"Fuck, no kidding. I'm starving." He glances around, hesitant, then, "I guess there's no good reason they can't...bring me my pants in your kitchen." He's very hungry, is the thing. Taako can savor the view. He's hardly protesting. 

Kravitz heads to the kitchen, swaying a little, bare feet padding in an impromptu little dance. This is good. This is real good. 

"I don't remember what I was wearing when I met you, but for the record, I look awfully good in a suit and tie."

“You do have a good fancyboy look, for sure,” Taako says. A tendril reaches out from the doorway, dropping a bundle of clothes into Kravitz’s hands. “Here’s your clothes, although I wouldn’t complain if you didn’t get dressed again too quick.”

Which reminds Taako, he should probably put on, like, anything, if only for Kravitz’s sake. There’s a dress draped over his couch, which is out of view behind a closed door because his living room is a mess and he’s trying to be cool and suave. A tentacle throws it at him and he manages to catch it, although it’s not quite as graceful as it could have been. He squints at it, tail swishing.

Kravitz makes the executive decision to at least put his underwear on. The rest he stacks on a chair for now, and he abandons the delusion of decency for some excellent sandwiches. What little he sees of Taako's mess he certainly doesn't comment on, because, on the chance that Taako visits Kravitz's home, he doesn't want to get railed by fantasy HGTV. 

Actually. 

"Maybe what we could do next...I mean, maybe next time, Like. Maybe we could just go on a date. Not that I'm not interested in more experiments--I am, really--but-- Is that cheesy? We could go to a play, or....go get....pie somewhere?"

Taako turns to look at him, giving up on the dress and just flopping down into a chair. 

“Works for me,” he says, reaching across the table to catch Kravitz’s hand for a second. “As for where to go...hmm. I read about this thing where you, like, go make pottery and drink wine, we could do that? Pie or a play also sound good, though.”

"Oh, that sounds nice." Although the risk of getting tipsy concerns Kravitz. Not that anything bad would happen, just that he would embarrass himself. "Wine, pie, art, theater, although I'll warn you I'm an insufferable theater nerd. I hope that doesn't turn you off." He grins and inspects Taako's handiwork, and, to be honest, Taako.

Taako gestures vaguely at himself. “You think I got here without a little drama? I can take what you got, babe.”

He takes a bite out of his sandwich. It’s not complicated, but it’s good. And also, not a hot pocket. Which is what he usually has for lunch on Saturdays. 

“Also, concept for a night we don’t drink, I do want to take you out for dinner and then come back here and tie you up all pretty. That’s also a thing that’s on the table.”

Kravitz swallows thickly. 

"You're going to give me a workout, you know that?" He takes a large bite of his sandwich to keep himself busy and tries not to picture that in too much detail. It would be so....so much fun. He has no bones and he's going to be tired for two days but he wants to fast forward to that, please. Redirect. He has to redirect. 

"Musicals?" Don't talk with your mouth full, Krav. "I mean- are you a fan?"

Taako winks, but accepts the subject change. 

“Sure! I was big into the theater scene in the 80s and 90s, had a lotta actors and stuff coming into the shop, so. Well, then and, you know, classic vaudeville. Love me some old-fashioned vaudeville. What shows do you like?”

"Oh my god, you actually would have seen-- what was it like? Oh, fuck, the costumes, I can't even imagine..." Kravitz sucks a bit of sauce off his fingers and thinks. 

"Well, productions I've seen or productions I've been in? Mind you it's been a while, but. Mm. I don't need this spread around, but I'm a sucker for that classic, formulaic musical schtick. All of it, any of it, with the big musical numbers and the--cheesy ensemble dances-- mmmm...."

“It was pretty trashy,” Taako says, smiling. “I loved it.”

It’s both a surprise and not that Kravitz loves that good cheese. Taako gets it!! Give him a big overblown finale any day. “What shows have you been in?”

"Oh, a real variety. My Fair Lady--now that was an excellent accent, Oklahoma, you know, ah... then a couple of ones you probably haven't heard of. I directed one, I was in the orchestra pit for one..." Kravitz mouths a few things and counts on his fingers, then adds, "Oh- Phantom of the Opera. Still have the mask."

Kravitz finishes off his crusts and licks his fingers again. He can't help but grin. 

"It's been so long."

“You were the lead, huh? In Phantom? Now you have to sing for me sometime,” Taako says, grinning. He pokes Kravitz’ leg under the table affectionately. “Man. Music is so cool.”

"Not at first. Well. It's a long story. I still remember all of the words, you know? It was a hell of a lot of fun. I wish it had been a viable career path, honestly. I would have been in a much different place, I think." He's wistful for a moment, but not a bit longer. 

"Yeah? What sort of music are you into? Be not afraid of my multitudinous and absolutely correct opinions on this broad subject."

Taako winces inside. He knows shit and fuck all about music. 

Oh, how the turn tables. It’s fine. 

“Uhhhh, I like the kind..with.......iiiinstruments? And. Singing,” he says. “I like theatrical music, but I don’t know anything about genre.”

Kravitz laughs, only a little bit at Taako's expense. 

"Fair enough. That just means I get to share all my favorites with you, and you get to agree that they are all very good."

Kravitz taps his fingers on the table, then turns back to Taako. 

"Well, what do you have on your ipod?" Since Taako’s so old, maybe he’s a bit behind the times.

Taako blinks slowly. “My...what?”

He has a phone, but he’s never really bothered learning anything past texting and phone calls. He’s busy. He’s toyed with the idea of making a socials media for the store, but it’s never been worth it. 

“I have, uh, I have a CD player downstairs...?”

Kravitz smiles helplessly because he doesn't quite know how else to react. "You. Okay. I, I can work with that. Or do you have a record player? I have some good stuff on vinyl."

“I think I do somewhere,” Taako says. “I’d need to dig it up. I have a radio, too, but I mostly play that in the store. I like pop, the melodies are so bouncy.”

He shoves his plate away and stands up, nudging Kravitz back so he can clamber into his lap insistently and wrap his arms around his neck.

"Mmm, perfect. I'll show you all sorts of things." Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako like he belongs there. 

"I admire your confidence, Taako, I... you're really..." They fit so well together, and Taako's drying hair smells so nice and.... 

"Yeah...wow..."

Taako sighs happily. “Wow indeed. Lookin’ forward to having a little more music in my life again.”

“My, uh, my sister, she plays violin,” he adds, quietly. “Her husband plays piano. They’d play together way back when, these sappy-ass melodies that always got people crying. Not me, obviously, but. You know. It’s been a long time since they played for other people, even me. It sounds nice to, uh, to get all wrapped up in music again.”

He hopes Kravitz will sing to him, eventually. His voice is warm and soothing even speaking, melodic when he’s not stumbling over sentences. Taako’s barreled into this way too fast but there’s no turning back now.

"Ohh, that sounds nice. I haven't played piano in years. My favorite was always the standing bass. There's so much you can do with them, and their voice is so unique. It's been...uh, it's been a long time. I would sound pretty rusty now if I tried to show off." Kravitz gives off a self deprecating little chuckle, like he's not trying to fight off the creep of existential sadness poking sticks into his life slash career choices, but hey. At least he's getting into a hobby again. The hobby is weird sex and he's asking someone to hold his hand through the process, but it has to count for something, right?

.....Kravitz takes Taako's hand and gives it a heartfelt little squeeze. He doesn't bother explaining. 

"We can experience some things together. It'll be....nice."

Taako leans heavily against Kravitz’s chest and presses his face up against his neck. He’s exhausted, it turns out—sex and emotional vulnerability have him allll tuckered out. 

He smiles, though, squeezing Kravitz’s hand back. “I’d love to hear you play sometime.”

"I might have to rent an instrument, but. But I like that." 

And Taako sounds so genuine. That's the real shock. Lots of people have placated Kravitz about it before--oh, yes, how interesting-- but. Well, maybe Taako's a better actor, but he actually sounds like he really does want to experience that. It warms his heart. 

"Don't fall asleep here, we'll fall off the chair, babe."

Taako's so happy that Kravitz feels comfortable enough to call him babe. But he's also mad sleepy, so he just grumbles and presses his face more firmly into the crook of his neck. 

"Mmmmno. I'm appreciatin' my cute and good musicboy boyfriend and his excellent lap," he mumbles. "I'll get up iiiinnnaminute. Gotta...set up the shop. But. Snuggles for now."

"Oh, you're terrible." Kravitz smiles and presses his lips to Taako's cheek. He can already tell that this is going nowhere fast, and he doesn't want to drop Taako on his ass. So he scoops Taako up in his arms and carries him to the nearest couch. The warm weight of him is so oddly comforting, and he sits with him to keep that fresh comfort in his arms.

Taako curls against him, wrapped up in him from his head to the tip of his tail, which he winds around his ankle. He bats him gently with one hand. 

“Thanks,” he says, without elaborating.

"Always," Kravitz says, as if this has happened before and he welcomes it happening again. Which. Well. 

He doesn't want to take Taako away from his business. But this is--it's so nice, is the thing. It's been so long since Kravitz got even a hug, let alone all this, and recklessness notwithstanding, some lizard part of his brain is singing at all of this touch. His job, his personal life, it's all very sterile and has been for a long time. Just days ago he probably would have justified it, said he wasn't the hugging type. But with Taako practically glued to the majority of his surface area, so completely unabashed in his need to be touched and held and praised and appreciated, something starts to unlock under the surface of Kravitz and it soothes like a balm on a pain he never named or noticed. 

He's in no hurry to peel Taako off and run.

Taako is content to linger for a while longer, pressed close to Kravitz happily. He missed this, being held just for holding. He sees Lup weekly but everything is different with the passage of time and they almost never have a chance to sleep all curled up together anymore. It’s good just to feel a heartbeat he didn’t make beneath his head. 

After a bit, though, he manages to peel himself off of him and stretch languidly, rolling on the balls of his feet. His whole body stretches out, his tail wiggling as it straightens. 

“You wanna hang out while I set up?”

Kravitz was four inches from a train ride back to snooze town, so he smiles blearily up at his flexible love and just admires the view. 

"Mmm....sure. Beats going home and eating cereal to entertain myself." 

He has some things to do, laundry and Ebay claims and vacuuming, but. Well. Taako has that beat even if he sits Kravitz down at the cash register and has him make change.

“Mm’kay,” Taako says happily. “I’m gonna get dressed. Get your cute butt in gear and meet me downstairs, cool? I gotta check through my inventory before I open to make sure nothing escaped.”

He kisses Kravitz on the forehead. “If I’m slow, feel free to go through the store and decide if you wanna ask me about how anything works.”

"You got it." Kravitz grins and salutes. "See you in a few."


	8. Trial Eight--The Wiggly Noodle Ball, The Sunshine Stim Toy, and a Chance Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz explores the store. Taako reveals more about his profession. They set up a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of our readers who keep checking for updates, but especially to those of you who leave comments! We love, love, love to hear your thoughts, screams, favorite lines, book reports, product reviews, life-reflections, deep connections, radio advertisements and pledges of undying servitude! Honestly, every single comment means a lot and help us keep producing things like this. Thank you!

Once Taako gives him a bit of space, Kravitz jumps back into his clothes and checks his appearance in a hallway mirror. Sure, he doesn't look his best, but he wants to make sure he at least doesn't look absolutely ravaged. 

Though it's not as if he could do much about it if he did. Accepting his fate, Kravitz heads downstairs to touch a variety of things.

Taako takes a couple of minutes getting his hair back to normal after being petted, but eventually decides he doesn't actually care much, and just gets dressed in something more appropriate for his usual mysterious and strange work persona. He's still in the process of tying a crystal around his neck when he shoulders absentmindedly through the door.

"Hey, babe," he calls out. He could just find him with a creature, but he figures it's probably better not to jump-scare him. "You find anything you're curious about?"

Kravitz jumps anyway, though nowhere near as comically as he did the first few times he toured the store. He's sitting on the floor in the consumables section, holding a contraption with thick cuffs like he picked it up and forgot to put it down. On the floor beside him, likely for similar reasons, is something he probably doesn't realize is a spreader bar. He scratches his head and looks at Taako. 

"Not to sound cliche or naive, but. I'm not even sure where to start." He smiles, more in on the joke than deer in the headlights this time, at least.

Taako wanders over, squatting down to get a better look and smiling. 

"Best place to start with bondage stuff is probably over there," he says, pointing at the nearby area that Kravitz probably found the cuffs in. "I have some that aren't creatures, even, if that's more comfy for you. Obviously also mostly ones that are. D'you, uh, want a primer on the stuff you've got with you right now?"

"I mean, sure. Sure, go ahead, maybe you should just....give me a guided tour? There's so much here..." Kravitz picks up and inspects a brightly colored packet of 'candies' from a nearby shelf and chews on his lip. 

"Yeah, um. Sorry. Yeah. How about you- just- show me the ropes? Or- sorry, I know this is a creature shop. Should we start there?" He frowns, perplexed, and waits for Taako to take control.

Taako snorts at his phrasing and offers him a hand up. "I can go through some basic stuff with you first before we get into specifics, if you'd like. Obvi you know what handcuffs and rope are, you're an alive person, but, like--and, sorry to be super duper forward here, I know you sometimes get uncomfortable talkin' about it and that's fine, how much BDSM porn have you seen? And, like, what kinds? That'll inform how many things I need to correct in your head because porn is ridiculous most of the time."

Right on cue, Kravitz flushes furiously. His eyes go anywhere but Taako. He can feel his own ears burning so hot he worries for the structural integrity of his head. 

"I, um. Well. Not. A whole lot. I- It's always sort of strange to watch- people do it-- honestly I more- I've read some things--and-- I've, seen, online, some......pictures..... and.... I.... well-- I mean-- I have a hard time--usually it's, well, it's straight people, and it always--in the videos I mean-- it always seems so. Negative??? And that's not--what I want, I mean, I don't want--to be insulted, or--not that, tying people up has to do with--anyway not, not a whole lot, but I like-- I- like the idea-- of--being. Held in place." 

Kravitz makes a face and exhales sharply.

Taako squeezes his hand. "Hey, you're fine. I hear you, dude, what I'm gettin' here is that you're more interested in the B than the S and the M, which is Dope. Are you interested exclusively in bondage and not so much the roles folks get into, or d'you want to play in the domination and submission space? That's not as important for, you know, physical objects, but it'll inform how I go about this. No wrong answers."

After a moment, he adds, "And don't pay attention to straight people smut, it's almost always dumb and bad."

Kravitz is surprised into a laugh, which helps interrupt the scrunched up confusion on his face. It's a lot to confront in person over something he never thought he'd say out loud, especially to a guy he happens to be very attracted to. It's. A lot. 

"I........m not sure? I don't know? Is it bad I kind of just want to roll with whatever--you like? I mean- I like what we've done--so far-" 

Kravitz takes a steadying second to remind himself that Taako hasn't opened the shop yet and there is no way someone could possibly be eavesdropping on their nonsense. 

"But I liked it...when you were in control. And. The, uh, way, you talked to me. That sort of thing. Like." Inhale. ".........Good. Boy. And. All that." Exhale.

“I’m glad,” Taako says. “Praise stuff is fun. Feels good to make other people feel good, you know? We can start small and see how you feel, how about that? Not gonna be all orders and control and shit from the get-go. Def gonna keep complimenting you though, you’re real cute.”

He wanders over to the racks of bondage gear, still holding Kravitz’s hand. He gives the items an appraising look; there’s cuffs and gags and blindfolds and half a dozen kinds of monsters, including the one Kravitz hadn’t realized was a set of bioarcane cuffs the first time he came into the store. 

“Now, I have most of these upstairs, or somethin’ like them, but it’s worth looking at them in a sort of more sterile environment. Good to be out of sexyville while deciding boundaries, you feel?”

"Yeah, that... yeah. It sounds good." Relieved, Kravitz gives Taako's hand a little squeeze. He didn't really think of it that way, and it's sort of sweet how much Taako cares about him. 

"Did you really make all of this? It's. Amazing. There's so much."

Taako waves his hand back and forth. “Most of ‘em, anyway. Some of the more conventional cuffs and stuff I order. I don’t know how to make rope and I don’t care, really. Rope’s pedestrian.”

He says it fake-haughtily, grinning at Kravitz after. “It’s not really, but it is tough to make well, so I leave it to people who know how. I got other fish to fry, you know? Same with leatherwork and metal. I can do little stuff, but structural integrity with inorganics isn’t really my speed. Same with clothes, actually. I make most, order some.”

That's good. That's good. Kravitz nods. Creating something from nothing and then, especially, selling it, is a pretty big no no as far as magical law goes. But it's impressive anyway. Taako knows so much about this stuff and honestly? He's a huge entire nerd. And that's both sexy and comforting. 

"So what fish do you prioritize frying--hold on, fryoritize--then?"

Taako can’t help but snort at “fryoritize.” Weird little cutie. 

“Well, most of my work time is either spent manning the store or making sure I have enough of the basics to fill demand,” he says, shrugging. “Better to have a constant stream of the popular ones than realize you’re out and have to go on a two-day bender of making the same wiggly noodle ball over and over again, you know? Beyond that, I do custom orders and developmental projects! Plus, y’know, fun modifications to the building and myself.”

"For the record, I have a feeling that has actually happened to you before and I would love to see evidence. Follow up-- Is that your best seller? The 'wiggly noodle ball?' I was kind of hoping you gave them all Cthulu IKEA names." 

Still, it sounds more interesting than Kravitz's job, not that Kravitz would be particularly skilled at this.

Taako shoves him playfully. 

“My best seller’s that one you got initially, goofball,” he laughs. “I usually just call it a basic erotic tentacle, which is boring, but, you know, descriptive. Gotta make sure it’s distinct from the basic roomba tentacles or the basic screaming tentacle.”

"Oh? So when does the wiggly noodle ball come in? What's your rating system? Do you have a brochure~?" Kravitz shoulders right back into Taako, not too hard. Just. The socially appropriate amount. "Gods above, why do you sell a screaming tentacle? Is that some sort of fetish?"

Taako makes a noise that’s half a giggle and half a snort. He snatches Kravitz’s hand when he gets bumped, running his fingers over Kravitz’s own. “Those are the wiggly noodle balls!!!! Sort of. Honestly a lot of my products fall under that umbrella. You’d be surprised. Some people want it as an alarm, some people just...like the novelty, I guess.”

Kravitz laughs as much at the adorable sound Taako makes as at the visual of a screaming tentacle alarm clock. "I guess it certainly would do the job..." He squeezes Taako's hand, playfully possessive. 

"There definitely are a lot of options. I hope I'm not still keeping you from opening. I have plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of your tentacle offerings. You should make some money."

Taako shrugs, flicking his hand at the door. There. The find-me spell will do the rest of the work. 

“Bam, open,” he says. “You’re free to hang out as long as you like, though.”

"Wow." Kravitz is.......smitten. This is silly. But. "Do you want to go on a date? Like a movie, or a restaurant, or....something? We could dress up and and you know, go about town? Not right now, I mean, but. Soon?"

"Oh, hell yeah," Taako says. He's already frantically going through possible outfits in his head. "Where would you wanna go? I haven't really wandered around your town much."

He keeps running his eyes over the racks, thinking about what Kravitz would look good in. Honestly, most of them.

"Oh, uh, I," Kravitz backtracks immediately. "I don't even know. A movie? A- we could- restaurant-?" He interrupts himself with giggles. "We could- I saw this in a romance, uh, romance novel once--we could get really dressed up and go somewhere really normal? I have, um. I may possess, a top hat. If you happen to be interested in such things." Kravitz bites a thumbnail and smiles to himself. What a mess. But also, hell yes?

Taako grins. “Oh, fuck yeah, that is exactly Taako’s jam. Fast food in a ballgown, movie in a tux...whatever. Delightful. Really get people confused.”

“Oh, oh, you know what would be good sometime? I feel like you could absolutely rock a cape.” He’s practically bouncing on the balls of his feet now, delighted at the prospect. “I also like goin’ to fancy restaurants looking like an escaped witch doctor from seventeenth-century rural Spain but that’s probably less your speed.”

Kravitz bites his lip so he doesn't grin so hard his face falls off. 

"No, you, no- fuck- that is very good, gods, I would love- I still have one from Phantom but do you like--do you sell capes??? Taako, please. You can dress me in whatever you want." 

He clears his throat. 

"Except yellow."

Taako immediately wants to put him in yellow. Just a pop of it with a black suit would really be gorgeous, but. Oh well. Purples and blues it is. 

“I don’t sell capes, but I do have one or two, and I know where to get more,” he says, grinning. “C’mon, if you’re done lookin’ for now we can go sit at the counter and chat.”

Taako takes Kravitz’s hand, squeezing it affectionately.

"I love capes..." Kravitz whispers, half to himself. He squeezes Taako's hand back and walks with, letting him lead. This is such...a good place to be. It's almost radiant. He can't imagine any people in his life that would get so excited about capes. Well. Maybe Sloane, but definitely not at work, and it's hard to imagine his coworker-friend removed from her native environment. Maybe one of his moms.

"I've always sort of wanted to do that, you know? I've thought about it like once a week since I read that in college. I always wanted a guy to sweep me off my feet, you know? But that never really..............took off."

Taako takes his other hand too, raising them up between them and locking their fingers together. He can’t help the little smile he gets looking up at Kravitz’s face. “Well, I’m a little short for sweeping, but maybe we can give this whole romance thing a try anyhow.”

"I'm sure we could figure something out vis a vis sweeping," Kravitz says, breathless and wooed. "You have a lot of guys beat on the romance front for even trying." 

He's weak. Kravitz is so weak. He cannot wait for Taako to exploit all of his weaknesses, one by one. Kravitz cups Taako's cheek in his hand and kisses him, fully in his head picturing the romance movie he never got to have. Just. No one needs to know that, is the thing.

Taako can’t help wrapping his arms around Kravitz’s neck like a swooning maiden on the cover of one of those novels, kissing him back with a tender sort of intensity he doesn’t usually admit to having in him. 

When he pulls back, he plants a graceless smooch on Kravitz’s nose. “Romance.”

"Fuck yeah," Kravitz says, grinning like an absolute fool. He swoops in for several more retaliating kisses and sort of wishes he had gone whole hog with the lipstick today. There'll be time for that later, though. But wouldn't that be a lovely picture. Red lipstick? Black? Taako would look fantastic decorated in dozens of smooch receipts, down his neck and up his thighs and around.... 

Perhaps an inopportune time to get horny about prepositions. Kravitz finds a comfy spot to lean against the counter, arms still full of Taako, and casts about for a something. 

"So what do you like to read?" .....Boring, but workable?

Taako snorts at the diversion. 

“I mean, pretty much anything,” he says, “I don’t spend a lot of time reading, —tome reading—“ he sounds very proud of himself for this. “—But I especially like cookbooks by interesting people and extremely indulgent paranormal romances. The more rippling abs the better, baby.”

Kravitz snorts and shakes his head at the dumb joke and moves on. His rational side notes what a compromising position they're in should a customer enter, but his gay side starts playing with Taako's hair again. 

"Paranormal? Why paranormal romances? Taako. Taako, be honest. Are you sexually attracted to ghosts."

Taako leans into the hand in his hair with a mrrp.

“I’m more sexually attracted to vampires than ghosts, but ghosts can be hot,” he says, defensive. “And humans get boring after a while!! I obviously think that, given.” 

He gestures to the store.

Kravitz snorts, inelegant and worth keeping in a jar to enjoy later. 

"Humans I get, you know, everything has to be about them. But ghosts???? Ghosts??????? The glowing blouses and wild eyes I get, but Taako. Taako how in the world would you fuck a ghost."

“With a can-do attitude is how, Kravitz!” Taako crows, sounding fake-offended. “You’d doubt me? The da Vinci of monsterfuck?”

He nuzzles at Kravitz’s chin, grinning.

"No, no! No! I want to know! How exactly does one fuck a ghost, spectre, spirit, ghoul, poltergeist, ghast, or shade? You do NOT just get to blow me off, Monsterfuck da Vinci. You Dickelangelo. Vincent van Gonads. Andy Whorehol."

Taako buries his face in Kravitz's shoulder, giggling helplessly. "Well, see, it's, it's because, it's--you can--listen, I've given this a lot of thought, it all comes down to what you believe ghosts can do, right? So either the ghost can, uh, can possess, like, a dildo, and then you're Gucci, baby, OR if the ghost concentrates you can just straight up do the do, but, like- it's-- it's like, if the ghost is concentratin' enough to have solid junk you probably can't see the rest of it so it's just- a disembodied dick-"

He can't keep talking, he's snorting too hard. "Anything's possible if you just believe, Krav!"

Kravitz effects a mature expression for four entire seconds before breaking with, "Oh gods, I forgot Dickasso." He dissolves into giggles, losing his composure entirely, and it's only when he loses his breath that he has time to actually consider the idea. 

"You know," and then he stops. Taps his fingers on the counter. He's got to be careful here, because Taako could easily make these things--well. A simulacrum of these things, because hopefully he neither owns nor can control a ghost--reality. 

"What about, maybe, possession?" 

“Oh, huh,” Taako says, considering it. He’d broken into giggles at Dickasso, but the idea makes him pause. “That sounds...really hot, actually. Sharing a body and experience? Very good.”

"I mean...I mean, yeah...I don't...know how you would, go about that, but it's sort of--a control thing-- like, it's your body but they're driving it, but both of you feel it........." 

Kravitz frowns slightly. He ought to just tattoo this had better not awaken anything in me on his forehead if he's going to keep coming in here.

Taako can’t help laughing. “I like your kink-acquired face, babe. I have no idea how to make a spell like that, but if I get some sorta possession epiphany you’ll be the first to know.”

He’s enjoying just...holding Kravitz, even this casually. It’s nice to be held, nice to be enjoyed, and he groans out loud when he hears the distinct sound of the shop door opening. 

“Aw, goddamnit.”

"Ah-dear-" Kravitz flushes and lets go. "I don't know about...okay, maybe, but..." He moves several paces away and tries to look casual, then considers the psychic damage he would take if he made eye contact with another live being in here, and he very quickly disappears behind the nearest shelf.

Taako watches him go, amused, before returning to his usual spot behind the counter. He can see the new customer with one of his surveillance eyes; it’s someone he’s not met in person before, but vaguely remembers owns a sex shop in a medium-big city somewhere and tends to buy in bulk. 

He puts about a third of his attention on the dude as he approaches the counter to ask about shipping costs for mimics, dedicating the rest to watching Kravitz curiously.

Kravitz makes sure he's out of sight of the customer, for....whatever impulse. It's not as if that person isn't also in the store, or that he's...embarrassed to be with Taako? Of course if someone assumed he worked here and asked him for advice, he'd die on the spot, but...well. He's getting better. 

To prove it to himself he strokes a little sample tentabeast and jumps back when it activates and moves. Okay, maybe he's still a baby. He's only been at this for a bit, right? He can cut himself some slack? 

Instead he tours through a variety of lubes and admires Taako's incredible range. He's not even sure how he would pick--a lottery system, maybe? He has glittery ones and stamina building ones, ones that heat up or change color or tingle or make your equipment double in size. Edible lube. Now. Hm.

Taako has to press his lips together to keep from laughing when Kravitz startles himself, resisting the urge to briefly possess that sample and have it terrorize him. He can toy with Kravitz later. For now, he leans against the counter and explains that mailing bioarcane goop monsters in cardboard doesn’t work and the reason that his shipping prices are so high is that, again, cardboard is a terrible idea. The dude seems like he’s on the verge of getting it, at least.

Kravitz keeps wandering, inspecting other shelves. No matter how much he explores, there always seems to be more, and packed in so tightly to the small space that the visual effect is completely overwhelming. Kravitz picks up a small...soft....sphere of light, and laughs in surprise when it begins to pulse and vibrate. He knows it's bioarcane autonomous simulation, but it makes him think of a pleasant little alien creature purring in his hands. He carries it with him, inspecting trinkets and charms, fare of a more pedestrian magic shop, but tuned to Taako's customer base. He snorts at a whole row of ones dedicated to preventing STIs, but on second thought, that's actually pretty clever.

By the time Taako’s done with the first dude—who eventually agreed and offered to just pick the stuff up in-store himself—there’s another customer in the shop, but she’s one he knows won’t be much trouble, so he hops the counter and lets her wander.

Taako finds Kravitz easily. He has eyes everywhere, after all. 

“Hey, sorry about that. Find something you like there?”

"Hello. Oh, this?" Kravitz holds up the little sphere and shows it to Taako. "I don't really know what it is. I didn't read the label? I just....really wanted to hold it. Is that weird?" 

Kravitz glances at the other patron. "What was all that about? I heard you really use your customer service voice back there."

“Oh, just about shipping costs. Homeboy didn’t get that liquid doesn’t travel well in cardboard, basically.” Taako flaps his hand dismissively, then glances at the item in Kravitz’s hand. 

“And that’s a stim toy, pretty much,” he says, drawing one finger across it. It makes the hum change its tone slightly, the light shifting just a tad warmer. “It’s supposed to be a comforting thing to hold so your hands have something to do if they wouldn’t otherwise. Plus, I’m told it makes a pretty dope nightlight.” 

Part of Kravitz is sort of glad he isn't holding a purring sunshine buttplug. He really likes it, though, and he mimics the gesture Taako did to play with the settings. It sort of reminds him of a glowing marimo. He's always wanted one, but he is 100% straight up a plant murderer. 

"How much is it? Are there other things like it- you said stim toy?"

“Keep it,” Taako says, in lieu of an answer, and then, “and, uhh, yeah, there’s some stuff for fidgeting, some stuff for, like, chest compression for people that do better with it, that kinda thing. Slime like kids make, but actually good. You know.”

Kravitz feels like he should argue, but he knows Taako wouldn't let him, so he slips the little thing into his pocket. The warmth just makes him feel....comfortable. Safe? Something like that. 

"That doesn't seem like your usual MO. Do you sell a lot of that stuff?"

Taako shrugs. “That’s the kind of thing I mostly ship elsewhere, you know? Novelty stuff, gets sold at little curio shops and bigger box stores that want to cling desperately to quirkiness. But yeah, I, uh, I make a lot of...sort of more innocuous stuff? That I tend to mail out. I keep some of everything here, but usually it’ll just be like. One or two, for display.”

"Oh, sorry to take your display piece then," Kravitz says, making no effort to put it back. "That's really interesting. Which is more profitable, if you don't mind me asking?" 

He takes Taako's hand, remembering he can just Do That. It's a tiny thrill in and of itself. Hopefully his hands aren't horribly cold.

“Well, I sell more actual units of the non-sex stuff,” Taako says, squeezing Kravitz’s hand. “—But the horny stuff costs more on an individual basis. So....I don’t know, I’m bad at math. I usually bully my brother-in-law into helping me figure out what the fuck my revenues are. I’d say the innocuous stuff probably makes me slightly more? But you gotta remember, sometimes I make six figures on one wretched ball of hands.”

"Wretched..." Kravitz echoes with a shiver. "I guess it's different being a small business owner than having a career? And, I mean, as long as you're living fine, I suppose it doesn't really matter....Have you ever tried selling online? I mean, it might welcome a lot more monstrosities, but it could really increase your income."

“I use the internet to sell in bulk,” Taako says slowly, “but listen. Listen. I don’t have the strength to learn how to make a website store. I don’t have it in me, babe.”

He grasps Kravitz’s sleeve dramatically. “Kravitz, I’d die if I had to put in that much effort. Death. Death by programming.”

"Well-" Kravitz grins, not knowing if he should play along or placate Taako. "I wouldn't want you to expire in such a horrible fashion. I could always help you? If you so desire? Or I could just not bring it up for a few months." 

He laughs at first, but thinking of the longevity of their relationship gives him....not butterflies. Pteradactlys?

Taako hums, leaning against his shoulder. "Maybe if you helped. Maybe. But...I don't know, the internet is weird. Too many numbers, not enough magic. Plus I feel like havin' that much space to play all anonymous would bring out the absolute worst in people."

With a flick of his wrist, Taako brings up a small creature. It drops his phone in his hand. "Like, even this little dude. So much potential to be a shithead."

"Oh, absolutely. You're more correct than you could possibly understand. It's also a pretty good tool, though, and. Well, I don't really need to sell you on it, but it could probably help you make more money so you could focus more on your craft?" 

Kravitz feels sort of weird playing commercial, so he clears his throat. 

"What actually, um. What custom creations have you been really proud of?"

Taako blinks, rolling back onto his heels. It's an ask; there've been so many things through the years, some he's sure he's seeing through rose-tinted glasses now.

"Well, actually, some of my customs are just staples of the shop now," he says slowly. "Like, uh, there's a mimic that actually functions as a closet? It has a little, you know, special section. For being horny in. And it's good for moving 'cause it can shrink down a whole lot. I was real happy with that one...I'm shapin' up to being proud of that cloth one we've talked about--hopefully I can get it on the shelves before the fervor around fantasy Venom dies down- stuff that serves multiple purposes, you know?"

"Oh, I like that," Kravitz says, nodding slowly. "Dynamic and useful, but still elegant. You're rather clever, Taako. That's probably not news to you, but. " He laughs and shrugs. "Worth saying out loud once in a while, isn't it?" 

He scratches his head, thinking. 

"I'm really not that creative, so I don't even know where I'd start even if I did have the...skills."

"It's haaaaaaard sometimes," Taako says, letting a whine slip into his tone. "Like. sometimes I look at all the shit I've got and just think, like, well what the fuck else!!!! What the fuck else can I do!" He waves his hands pointlessly through the air. "At the end of the day, though, I just gotta keep makin' stuff. When I hit that kinda wall I usually just go on a big restocking frenzy."

Kravitz laughs. 

"I appreciate your hard work though, I really do. I think you've gotten accustomed to it, but I just barely walked into all of this and I can still hardly take it all in. Look- Look at each little piece you've created with nothing but your mind and your bare hands, and- and just appreciate that for a moment." Kravitz gestures around, echoing Taako's movements.

"It's not worthless because it's finished. It's not over with because you can't add anything to it anymore. It's easy to think--out of sight, out of mind, you know, but your work-- it intimately affects and improves the lives of real actual people! That's-- that's amazing, Taako, and you should be proud. You worked hard for it."

Taako's ears go red. Sincerity, the surest way to short-circuit him; Kravitz has found his weakness. He manages to snort at intimately, but it takes him a second to respond.

"I'm- you- that's. Gay," he says. He manages to reboot, shakes his head slightly, plasters on a cocky grin and says, "I mean, uh, I know, I'm great."

Kravitz laughs at the deflection and feels his heart give a real ugly squeeze. He's walked straight into the deep end without even bothering to take off his shoes. 

"And don't you forget it."

He wishes he had someone to talk to about this. Maybe Sloane would answer his texts, but she would definitely start with calling him an idiot. Which he probably deserves.

Taako's still in processing mode, so he just tugs Kravitz down for a soft kiss instead of saying anything valuable. This is stupid. He's stupid. He wants to marry this dweeb and it's been a week.

Kravitz kisses back impulsively, like it's the most natural thing in the world, and he follows that impulse to the source, kissing Taako deeper and taking hold of his shoulder for balance. It's good, it's so good, and it takes him a minute after pulling away, breathless, to be self conscious of kissing with a customer in the store. He has definitely never been the pda sort, and he doesn't want to be caught now, especially with the implications of the context, but Kravitz's gay brain immediately dissolves into the puddle of acid labeled well maybe I would be into pda with Taako and he loses the chemical makeup in his bones imagining holding his hand in public. 

"Wow, um. Wow."

Taako leans in, laughing breathlessly when Kravitz pulls away. “Wow indeed, babe. For someone that gets as flustered as you you’re a fuckin’ stellar makeout partner, holy shit. I’m gonna need a ton of Kravitz Smooches from here on out.”

He’s tempted to say that he’s good with his mouth in a lot of ways, which is true, but he doesn’t want to kill the man.

"Would you like to schedule that for delivery or pickup?" Kravitz asks, dazed but not out of it enough not to quip. He can't stop looking at Taako's lips and something seems electric under his skin. Actually, Taako's magic enough it literally might be building in him like static electricity. That's...definitely something to consider.

"I'm a, uh, well I'm a quick learner. And also. I mean I do have experience, just not, A LOT, you know." Kravitz wants to defend himself but also he totally deserves a bit of skepticism.

"Yes. Every way, all of the ways, delivery, pickup, dine-in, whatever," Taako laughs. "And you're fantastic. Ten outta ten, will smooch again, and again and again."

He kisses him again, quicker this time, before his ear flicks toward the counter. "Hang on, I gotta ring her up, be right back."

Right on cue, Kravitz becomes mortifyingly aware of his existence in conjunction with other sentient living creatures. 

"Right, um, go right ahead take your time bye." 

Did she see them making out like a pair of teenagers in the back of the store? How embarrassing. His ears go hot and he gets up to get lost behind a tall shelf or five, listening for any sign she noticed his existence whatsoever while Taako helps her with her purchase.

Taako hops the counter nonchalantly, grinning at the customer. She'd last been in about two weeks ago, although she only bought some enchanted candy that time. "Hey, Hurley, back again so soon?"

She flaps her free hand and reaches up to place a box on the counter. He glances at it; it's one of his toys that shapeshifts to fuse with the body, made to create a (removable, of course. Taako's not qualified to make permanent body modifications on anyone that doesn't have 99-100% of his DNA.) Fun Dick™ for a while. She grins up at him, unrepentant."Yeah, yeah, I told you I was about to get a bonus, didn't I? My girlfriend's birthday is this week, leave me alone."

"Well," Taako says, grinning. "Glad to be a provider of a good time, then. Your total's gonna be one-sixty, you good with that?"

"Sure." From there, it's not hard, just a little bit of friendly banter while he rings her up. He keeps his ear perked up to make sure Kravitz is fine.

The name sounds....familiar, but...no...it, probably not. That would be silly. And he doesn't want to pry. Kravitz busies himself with a shelf of erotica, pretending to read the backs of a few self-published looking books and totally not....eavesdropping or eye dropping or stalking or creeping. The thing is just that Hurley isn't that common of a name. And also that that is, Kravitz is 73% sure, Sloane's girlfriend's name. 

But surely it's completely irrelevant.

"Cool," Taako says, once he's finished everything. "Well, have fun with that, babes. Oh, tell Sloane I said happy birthday, will you?"

"Sure, Taako, will do. Maybe late, because probably mentioning you would give the game away on the whole presents thing, though."

Taako snorts. "What, no. What? You totally ran into me at, uh, McBurgers or whatever. That's where I go to hang out, Hurley."

"That's not...Taako, that's not a thing. Please get out more."

He sticks his tongue out. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Enjoy your monster dong."

She just rolls her eyes and waves, not even really glancing at Kravitz as she passes him on her way out.

Okay. Still......probably a coincidence. It's unimaginable that anyone he knows would know Taako. Except for the fact that those definitely aren't common names, and the email notifications he can't figure out how to turn off from FantasyBook definitely did warn him of Sloane's impending birthday. 

But that would be weird, right???? That would be so weird? And what would they think? Fuck, would people expect him to be a patron of this sort of establishment, or a prude that wouldn't approve of it? Which is worse? 

He bites his thumbnail and waits for Taako to return to him, struggling to find a good excuse for his mood shift.

Taako wanders back up to him once Hurley’s gone, smiling to himself. Sloane is currently forbidden from coming to the store herself, (she knows what she did) but Taako’s always glad to hear from the two of them. 

“Hey, Krav,” he starts, stretching happily, then pauses. “You...okay there, dude?”

"What? Yes perfect fine." Subtle. Just having a weird out of body social connection crisis. Definitely not any problems Taako won't fundamentally understand. What would he care, hypothetically, how people perceive his hypothetical sexuality especially in regards to monster bits toys? Or physical shops which provide them?

Taako could probably get away with anything and it would seem normal. Literally anything. He could be solving a sudoku puzzle upside down in midair or crunching on barbeque fried lizards at a movie theater and it would be just "Yep, there he is, Taako. That's him." 

Why is Kravitz even bothered? What does he even care what people think of him? If people think of him? Fuck, is it worse if they do or if they don't???

Taako blinks. Blinks again. Takes one of Kravitz’s hands in his. “You sure? ‘Cause you, uh, you kind of look like you’re having an existential crisis there, dollface.”

Ah. Definitely not subtle then. 

"Ah. Mm. Only a little one?" Kravitz doesn't elaborate yet, not quite sure how to, really, even. But he eyes the door. "It's. Weird. Honestly. Well. I don't know how weird, like, for you,"

“What, running into other people here? I can see that. I’m used to it, but it can be jarring to know that you and a stranger are both into some weird shit. Trust me, it was bananas in the Victorian era. People straight up wore masks to come in here. Like, fancy masks for being a pervert on the dee-ell.”

He tugs Kravitz over to the counter so he can push him down into the chair, bullying his way into his lap after. “—They got pretty intricate, I was honestly a little sad when that faded out.”

Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako seat belt style before he even realizes what happened and how he got to point b from point a. 

"First of all, I fucking love that aesthetic and would very much like to know more. But that's- here- the thing is. I'm. It's not, about strangers? I think, I think I know that woman. Sort of. I'm friends with her girlfriend."

Taako raises his eyebrows even as he snuggles closer. “You know Sloane? That...tracks, actually, you do seem to share that spooky vibe. Wild to get multiple people from the same city here in a day, though, huh.”

"Yes, I um. Do. At least I thought, you know, but the whole--this--you--?? I don't even know, like, what are the odds? What does that mean? How long have you known them?" Kravitz wants to ask who else Taako knows, but he doesn't really know how to get at that. And not to mention he's still wracked by self conception, trying to figure out whether or not he radiates enough horny energy to advertise for this place.

“I’ve known them...maybe two years? As for the odds, it’s a weird question to answer—I get a lot of customers from a lot of places, but it’s actually pretty common that they know each other. Part of the spell concealing it is that once you’ve heard of it it’s easier to find, right? So what’s wild to me is that my find-me spell brought you here unintentionally instead of because you had a friend tell you you should try it.”

The door to the shop opens, but Taako doesn’t move. He’s willing to get up if Kravitz seems antsy, but the dude in the doorway is Just Some Guy, coming in from what seems like Ohio, so it’s not super likely to be another acquaintance. Taako doesn’t know him, anyhow.

"Yeah....wild." Kravitz rests his head against Taako and sighs, clinging to him until he has to go do business. He doesn't know how to elaborate on his identity crisis or even why he's bothering to have one. And....should he even talk to Sloane about it? That's weird, right? But if he's talking about his New Relationship, does that change him finding a horny tentacle store?

Well, of all the people he knows, especially with what he knows now, she of all people would be willing to listen. He should just wait until after Hurley delivers on the gift, though. He can imagine what that would be like...............but he shouldn't.

Taako leans against his chest with a soft sigh, tangling their fingers together. He’s not sure what Kravitz is thinking, but he hopes it’s enough just to be a presence, warm and affectionate in his lap. It’s so nice to be held.

The comforting weight of Taako brings Kravitz down to earth, slowly bringing him back to the moment. He can text Sloane in a week or two, and of all people, she has no place to judge him. And she would probably tease him about Taako, but be happy for him finally (finally) finding someone. It's been a while since he had a boyfriend, or, for that matter, anyone to hypothetically introduce him to. It's a bittersweet thought. 

Kravitz wraps himself tighter around Taako. 

"Do you think....I mean, if you need to help your customer, I'll let you go. But um. Do you think......we could go on that date soon?"

“Nah, he seems fine,” Taako assures him. “And, uh, of course!! Not right now obviously, but this week for sure. You’re gonna have to lead the way a bit there, I don’t really know your city.”

Kravitz smiles, partially because he doesn't really know it that well anyway. He can imagine them getting very, very lost, and then he figures that it wouldn't be so bad to get lost with Taako. 

"Yeah no, I know. I just. I'm having a nice time with you, and obviously I need to go home and get some work done, but I just want to spend more time with you."

Taako laughs, nuzzling affectionately at his jaw. “What a crazy coincidence, I wanna spend more time together too!! Babe, if this is all a very elaborate sting operation to get me to pay taxes I will be so upset, I enjoy your company so much.”

He’s half-aware of the customer wandering through the vibrator aisle, looking more confident than Taako’s thrilled with, but he pushes it aside. Nobody steals from his shop—the doors don’t let them. If this dude has a problem, Taako can deal with it. For now, he has arms full of boyfriend to snug.

"Definitely not and I'm offended you would accuse me of such things. Let's go itemize your cash register." Kravitz snorts and kisses Taako's cheek. He feels selfish, but he wants to preserve all of this in a jar and live it over and over. 

"I should go home," he says, with less conviction than a court for rich people.

Taako huffs, wiggling in his lap to press their torsos closer together. “Innaminute. Hugs now.”

Kravitz just laughs.

It takes them an hour and a half to go their separate ways, or, rather, for Kravitz to break out of the clingy grip of more than one tentacle and also want to leave the enveloping cuddle of his darling. His heart pounds as he walks out, and he turns back to see if he can catch sight of it from the outside, but it's gone. 

It's cheesy, but his heart already aches. 

They text franticasually back and forth and determine they are again destined to be in the same place the next time Kravitz gets off of work, about a week later. The anticipation is painful, and the day of, Kravitz can feel his heartbeat in his ears again, like the stupid thing is going to leap out of him and right back to Taako's embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: their date, and a little bit more ;)


	9. Trial Nine--Trying New Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz have a whole real actual date, drink plenty of wine, and go home together. Taako finally gets to see Kravitz's place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for keeping the enthusiasm alive!!! We finally get to a real actual in public date and a certain word gets said... 
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments! Every single one allows us to maintain our corporeal lich forms and interact with technology long enough to produce this nonsense!
> 
> In this chapter:  
> alcohol  
> oral sex   
> Vaginal fingering  
> cheesy serenading

Taako cheats, to get to their date. By all rights he should probably have nervously taken a cab or something, but it's much easier to just.......casually appear his door into the alley by the Venue™ they're going to. Glaze of Glory, the stylized words in the window proclaim; below that, smaller, Get your hands dirty at our popular date nights!

He adjusts his top (he usually looks like everyone's weirdest ceramics teacher, so for actual ceramics he decided to go for a modern look with a bomber jacket and skinny jeans, just to keep it fresh), tucks a flyaway hair behind his ear, and pushes the door open. He's here a little early, because lounging at a table with a glass of wine is a look and a half and he is going to do this, and also because he was maybe, potentially, hypothetically, a little bit nervous.

The girl at the counter offers him a smile and a bottle of riesling, and he goes to settle at their little table, appreciating the flowers they've put in the middle for a moment before he settles in to lounge.

Kravitz is incredibly nervous, and what's more, he's late. Well. On time. But just barely. He spent way too long in the closet trying to figure his shit out and then found out that the rest of the world had gone on without him.

They'd talked about going overboard last time, but as much fun as that sounded, maybe it was too much for a first date? He didn't want to wear a suit, partially because he would look like he was coming straight from work and partially because he didn't want to get pottery on his nice clothes. What the fuck did that leave him with? Part of him wished he was the just throw on some camo cargo shorts type, but part of him figured he wouldn't have to bother getting ready for a date with Taako if he were. And.... and....and yet. 

He ends up in black jeans and a dark purple shirt with the sleeves cuffed, a black jacket with a subtle shine of waves that looked a little like tentacles if you squinted. He'd bought the jacket online specifically with Taako in mind, but maybe he could pull off the fiction that this was what normally could be found in his wardrobe. Shoes........he has nothing to go on; he wears his black Business Man work shoes. But he wears his nice dark purple socks with the gold accents. Either Taako is going to tear him apart, or he's barely going to look twice. 

And then Kravitz jogs the whole way to the train, and after the train, the whole way to the store, and he hopes he smells more like old spice than panic sweat.

Taako glances up smoothly at the jingle of the door, the picture of nonchalance. Just like he was the last four times the door opened. Shut up. He shifts liquidly in his chair, raising his glass to Kravitz from his seat. He’s pretty sure the dude will come to him.

And Kravitz goes, like he's been summoned, and he smiles, like he's been waiting for this his whole life. He clears his throat, very casually, and forgets what he was going to say. 

"Hey." 

Nope. Nope. Try again.

"Hope you didn't wait too long," he manages, more like human speak talk. "I came as fast as I could." 

Fuck almighty. He just sits down with Taako. 

"What's on the docket?"

Taako snags Kravitz’s hand as he sits, giving it a comforting little squeeze as he deftly pours him a glass of wine with his other hand. 

“You’re just on time, babe,” Taako assures him. “And we’re just painting ceramics! We each pick one of those lil’ things on the shelves there, and then we paint it with glaze however we want. I’m gonna turn one of those little princess dudes into a bog witch.”

Kravitz smiles, mostly relaxing in Taako's presence like a hot tub with only one eel in it. Dating still gives him hives, but how can he out-weird this dorkus? 

"I guess I had better go inspect the shelf for my victim. I warn you Taako, I really, really have no artistic talent at all. The visual medium is not my home, you see. Whatever crimes I commit tonight, you will have to contend with." He takes a whole sip of wine before laughing at himself, and he follows it with a few more sips for good measure. It coats his tongue in warm and bitter-sweet, promising a prime, if discount, evening.

"I have to disagree, have you looked at your face? A masterpiece. Michelangelo could never," Taako says, grinning at him over the rim of his glass. "They'll bring the pigments to us, so just grab whichever little doodad you want and start plotting."

He takes the chance, while Kravitz is at the shelves, to stare unabashedly at his ass. It's a good ass. Worthy of many accolades. Taako's gonna squeeze it, once he has a chance that won't kill him.

Kravitz, bemused, brings back a plain ass mug, a gnome that appears to be up to no good, and a bird with a cheeky expression. 

"I can't decide. I think the mug might be more at my skill level, but I kind of want one of these horrible cursed artifacts for my very own. What do you think?"

"Oh, the bird, a hundred percent," Taako croons, admiring its goofy little face. "It's perfect. It can be my bog witch's familiar."

"Hell yes." Kravitz puts the other two away, not quite in the right spot but as close as he can manage to remember. He returns to their table and sits across from Taako and is so overwhelmed by looking at his smile that he drains his entire wine glass. Oops.

Thirsty boy. Taako bumps their feet together companionably, turning his princess over in his hands. "When I get this back after they bake it you know I'm gonna glue on moss and shit. Make her really nasty. A nasty girl."

"I think mine will definitely need glitter. And a perch. A skull maybe, or...something." Kravitz's fingers fidget around the bird. "Do we.....just get started? Or..."

“Once they bring us the paints, yeah,” Taako says. “They’ll do a quick talk at us first, but then it’s free reign, baby!”

"Oh good." Kravitz acquires himself a refill and sits back. Adjusts his position. Scoots closer to Taako. 

"I hope you don't judge me. I haven't painted anything since high school." Scoots a little further still. "And that was a real mess. Some gaudy political statement. No, my artistic skill lies fully within the music realm."

“Hah. Well, chaos reigns, then! Let’s make some monsters!” Taako says, scooting his chair over so that their thighs bump together and leaning up against him. He wraps his tail around his ankle affectionately. Any edifice of Facing One Another is lost in the face of their —apparently mutual, nice— desire for closeness. 

Taako barely hears the instructor’s speech about how pottery is like love or whatever (man, this place is leaning into it), choosing instead to focus on the way Kravitz’s face shifts as he listens. He has a cute thing he does when he Pays Attention that gives him a little dip between his brows and a quirk to his perfect lips and Taako is gone, he’s doomed, this man is too much for him.

Kravitz really doesn't want to fuck this up. He's got it twisted somewhere in his head that if he does at bad job at the arting part, Taako, whose job is sculpting and designing and creating and marketing and interfacing, will laugh at him and think less of him and, well, not break up with him, but Kravitz wants to be good. Cough. Goood at this. Wants to impress Taako, there we go. That's all. 

When the instructor releases them, Kravitz follows the instructions to select his brushes and paints from the wide variety bestowed upon them by minimum wage employees in oft-redecorated aprons. He starts with four different shades of purple and also black, then worries it'll be too dark, and grabs a few more of the sparklier ones for good measure. Perfect. He sticks his tongue out a little as he gets his brush ready, then looks up to see Taako watching him like a technicolor Animal Planet documentary. Ah. Ah beans.

Oh gods he’s got his tongue poked out while he’s getting ready. Taako almost forgets to pick colors, scrambling at the last second to grab mossy greens and dark browns before the instructor with the glazes walks away. He manages to do this while only glancing away from Kravitz once or twice, enchanted by the soft flush to his cheeks. 

Oh no he caught him. Oh no he saw him staring. Oh no he’s gonna think Taako is, like, mapping out the best way to murder him for parts or something why is he so weird. There’s no non-awkward way to say ‘sorry, I got so distracted by how much I like your face that I stared at you for five full minutes like a fucking serial killer, don’t worry about it.’

Taako can’t see it, obviously, but his pupils are round and huge, swallowing up the yellow of his irises like a cat that’s just spotted a brightly-colored toy.

Kravitz's heart softens so much he expects to find some of it on the floor. Taako is.....gorgeous. Taako is perfect. Except he's perfect because he's imperfect, he's just made of all these weird bits and traits and desires and ideas and he's gorgeous for the same reasons. Kravitz sighs and puts his chin in his hand. This is a date. A fucking date. He made it!!!! 

He smiles to himself and sips at his wine, feeling the tang all the way down, warm and relaxing. This is....an opportunity. He's going to get to know this weird Tentacle Adonis like his life depends on it. 

"Have you been here before? Do you usually do this kind of thing?"

“I haven’t been here specifically,” Taako says, giving him a soft smile as he starts to paint. “Did some pottery a long time ago, but it’s been a while. Since it was practical to make my own jars, pretty much.”

He works the ceramic woman in his hands without much reverence, seemingly more interested in talking and having fun than he is in making a masterpiece. “What about you? You’re a musician, do you do other, ehm,” his voice goes silly and pompous for a moment, “creative pursuits?” 

Kravitz laughs, playing with his brushes more than painting with them. He doesn't want to fuck up, and he knows he will. He really wanted to give this to Taako, so it has to be good. At least good enough he won't think it's stupid looking. 

"No, not really. I mean, I told you about the music, but I don't play that often anymore. More for myself than anything. Um. I doodle when I'm on the phone, does that count? I can beat myself at tic-tac-toe 4 times out of 5." 

Okay, Krav. You got this. He starts laying down a base coat. That's easy, cover the whole thing. The details are gonna get fucky, is the problem. He almost accidentally tucks the brush behind his ear like a pencil.

He’s so cute. In all likelihood Kravitz could give Taako a muddy-brown piece of absolute garbage and he’d still treasure it purely for the memory of him fumbling with the brush, absently sticking his tongue out again. Taako wants to drown in this moment, in wine-warm veins and the sweetest company he’s indulged in for as long as he can remember. 

“Four outta five, wow,” Taako says, trying for a drawl but winding up somewhere around endeared. “I’m impressed. Also, even if you mostly just play for you, I still wanna hear it. Music is wild, people who can work well with it amaze me.”

"It really is its own kind of magic," Kravitz says, bubbling up effusively to talk about one of the few things he really likes. "You pick which rules to follow and which rules to break, you throw in some basics, and anyone can make something that defies imagination. It's beautiful. I've been fooling around with a ukulele lately, a tenor, and its voice is so sweet. I always mess up the frets since they're just that much different than the guitar or the bass, but it's just fun to pick out a little melody that never existed before, you know?" 

His ears grow hot and Kravitz brings his focus back down to his bird, whose saturation is already looking distinctly lopsided. 

"Err, yeah, that's. You know." Sips his wine. "What about you?" Nice save. At least he didn't apologize this time. He doesn't want to keep seeing that sour little twinge on Taako's face. Hard habit to break, though.

Taako props his head on one hand to listen, lightly setting down his statuette so he can focus on Kravitz. It’s mesmerizing, his love for music, and he’s bummed when he cuts himself off, although he keeps it off his face. 

“You’re incredible,” he murmurs softly, a shade more sincere than he intended. “I think I like hearing you talk about music.”

Kravitz's face gets a little warmer. It's, well. 

"Really? Most people think it's boring when I babble on about that sort of thing. And, well... It's hard to think anyone gives a shit after I couldn't find a job in music, you know? Like, there's. Y'know. No, um. Place for me there. " He finishes his glass of wine and clears his throat a little. Getting real tonight in the Glaze of Glory. He's going to put away a whole bottle if he isn't careful.

Taako tilts his head with a little huff. “Gorgeous, I’d be thrilled to hear you babble on about stamps if it made you happy. Fact that it’s somethin’ I like hearing about is a bonus.”

He reaches across the table to catch Kravitz’s hand in his. “As for there being no place for you, obviously I don’t have enough context, but...” 

Taako trails off, squeezing his hand lightly before going back to painting. “Never too late to show people up, that’s my philosophy.”

Kravitz almost steals his hand back to cover up the GOOFIEST GRIN IMAGINABLE, but it's Taako's now. It belongs to him forever. And maybe, by proxy..... Well, that's for them to figure out another day. But, oh, Kravitz's heart flutters like sheet music in the wind--the melody gets out of order but the life in it just dances. 

He almost forgets how to use his hands, warm as they are from Taako and just radiating that affection and confidence that comes with him. He paints the beady little eyes purple and goes in for the details so he can excuse not talking more with focus. Actually, it doesn't look....half bad.

Taako's been doing a concerning amount of Earnest Conversation this evening already, so he's comfortably willing to lapse into companionable quiet, sitting together and painting silly little ceramic statues. His tail winds loosely around Kravitz's ankle, affectionate and absentminded, and he occasionally glances up at Kravitz's silly bird, which is turning out fairly well. Not as well as his bog witch, but still.

This is..........nice. It's so nice. Taako knows when to push and when to pull back and the closeness is soft and surprisingly welcome. Kravitz isn't usually a touchy-feely guy--he can't remember the last time he gave another person anything more familiar than a handshake. But the way his skin tingles at the touch, he's starting to wonder if it's something he's been aching for for a long, long time. All at once, he's calmer than he's been in ages and just about ready to vibrate off the surface of the Earth. He swears he can feel himself growing rocket fins when he kisses Taako on the cheek and (definitely not running away) gets up to get them more wine and a few missing colors. 

Looking back at his face, Kravitz thinks that the warmth coursing through him like he finally has blood again is only partially the riesling.

Taako’s ear flicks happily at the kiss. He’s so, so warm, his heart humming at the easy back-and-forth between them. It feels familiar; even though they’re still learning some of the steps, the dance is easy and lovely. He pushes a strand of hair behind his ear, sips the last of his glass, and tries to convince himself that he’s not In Love. 

It doesn’t really work.

Kravitz brings back a few new colors, a bottle of peach moscato, and a big dumb uncontrollable heart full of affection. He scoots back close to Taako (an invitation to do that thing with his tail again, he's amazing) and pours them each a new glass. 

"I was looking for something a little sweeter, and the lady dug this up for me. Do you know if they have snacks? I think I'd slay a man for some pretzels right now."

Taako winds his tail around Kravitz's ankle again, tamping down a purr. "I don't know," he says. "We could ask? Worst case, we're hungry for another half hour and then get food somewhere else. I could do pretzels from a stand or something, or I could probably scrounge up something at my place."

He gives his witch little red eye-dots, enchanting them to glow faintly with the twitch of a hand.

Kravitz laughs, nearly as enchanted as the figure. 

"That's amazing! Taako, you're amazing. I don't know how you come up with all this, let alone have the skills to make it happen. Is that going to survive when they bake it?"

With a shrug, Taako starts in on her hair, his eyes occasionally flicking over to Kravitz's (stupid, beautiful, perfect) face. "Dunno. If it doesn't I can just re-enchant it, though."

"I guess that makes sense." 

Kravitz turns his bird this way and that, trying to figure out where it went wonky. The initial piece was a little silly looking, but something he's done has made the poor false creature look like it just saw someone naked. He frowns, activating deep lines set in his face. Still beautiful. 

"What do you think I should do?" he asks, wiping on a bit of paper towel the black paint he's gotten all over his hands. "It looks so.......so.....I don't know."

Jesus fuck Kravitz is hot. 

“I think you’re perfect. I mean it’s perfect. You’re—I—fuck,” Taako says before immediately covering his face, his ears going red.

It takes Kravitz a minute to process that, and then he's flushing too. Word drool comes out of his face before he can stop it. 

"No, you're perfect! I mean- you're perfect too! I mean, not that I think I'm perfect, but- you're gorgeous and amazing and I love your bog witch and-- and the fact that you're making a bog witch!!" The gush is killing him.

Taako peeks out between his fingers, half of a sharp-toothed grin visible behind his hands. They’re both weird dorks, so it evens out. Hopefully. “Yeah? You’re pretty gorgeous and amazing yourself, babe.”

"Well-" Kravitz sputters. "You're- fantastic and beautiful and creative and wild and unique!" He points his brush like these are all accusations instead of compliments, and honestly how dare he be so engaging and fun and bizarre! How dare he delight all of Kravitz's senses and sensibilities!

Taako’s just a hair too tipsy to be clever, so he just nudges the brush aside enough that he can give Kravitz a quick, soft kiss, a little clumsy through his smile. 

“I’m so glad you came into my shop looking for directions,” Taako says, meeting his eyes. “I like you so much.”

Kravitz is burnt to a crisp by bright pink lightning. Cartoon hearts burst around his head into even smaller hearts and he takes Taako's face in his hands and kisses him just as stupid as Kravitz feels. 

"I like you so much too," he says, between kisses. "I'm so glad I met you." He's sweet, like peach moscato and puppy love, and he can barely breathe with how badly Taako has seized his heart with his bare hands and carved his initials into it.

Taako’s kisses are enthusiastic and clumsy as he returns Kravitz’s attention, his voice breaking in a soft, high laugh. He covers one of Kravitz’s hands with his, holding it in place on his cheek as he presses their foreheads together. 

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time,” he says, his voice quiet enough to have the air of a confession. “You’re so easy to be around, it feels like we just...”

Taako shifts, lifting Kravitz’s hand so he can tangle their fingers together and hold their hands up between them. It’s a comfortable grip, warm and easy. “...Fit.”

Kravitz swallows heavily. Fit. That's practically a confession. That's......Taako has no idea how good it feels to hear that. Or maybe he does. Maybe he's even lonelier than Kravitz. Maybe... 

"Let's, um. Let's get our pieces fired. And um. I can show you my apartment."

“Oh, hell yeah,” Taako says, kissing him one more time before he mostly detaches himself to flag down an instructor. Their hands remain linked, though; Taako sees no reason to let go. 

The instructor raises an eyebrow at their Bog Duo, but doesn’t commentate, just accepts the tip Taako gives her and tells them the day they’ll be able to pick up their pieces. And then...they’re done. They did A Date. They did a whole date and now Taako’s gonna go home with Kravitz and he’s gonna kiss every inch of his face because he can.

Kravitz barely notices the way home. He's too filled with hand holding and Taako's face and stealing kisses like some kind of lovestruck fool. And he is. Both of those things. He shouldn't say it yet, but. He kind of feels like Taako's confession was as close as Taako could get. No pressure. It feels good to have this. 

He wishes he had cleaned up more before he'd left. He'd entertained it as a possibility, but. But all of his unfit outfits are definitely still cast about his bedroom, and.......gods know what else. But the wine numbs the anxiety, and mostly he feels the quiet thrum of anticipation. Of triumph. Taako is coming over to his place.

Taako spends the way home giggling breathlessly at Kravitz's onslaught of kisses and generally terrorizing their poor Fantasy Lyft driver, drunk on wine and affection. As they get out he wraps his tail around Kravitz's thigh and grins up at him unrepentantly, more than happy to monopolize his space. He's gonna lounge dramatically on his couch. It's gonna happen.

"Lead the way, babe," he says.

Kravitz has a hard time getting his door unlocked, what with all the fondling, but it finally pops open with a squeak of the loose handle. They half fall into the apartment, and Kravitz flips a light on so they can land on the couch on their first try. 

"Gosh," Kravitz says, looking into those wild wide pupils, rattled and warm, Taako always makes him feel so warm, he doesn't understand it but he would give anything in the world to stay like this!

Taako laughs breathlessly, pressing his face into Kravitz's neck to hide his giggles. Gosh. What a fucking dork. He's so wonderful. 

He sits up, half in Kravitz's lap, and kisses his nose sweetly. "Gosh indeed."

Kravitz laughs, breathless and pleased. His nose! How does Taako think of these things! He's Cupid, but worse. 

"Welcome to my crib," he says, in an exaggerated MTV voice. "It's got a bathroom AND a bedroom. And even, although I don't have any proof I've used it, an entire kitchen." He drops the cheesy goof and smiles at Taako, straight up fuckin smitten. 

"Sorry I didn't clean up first. I didn't expect my date to go so well."

Taako snorts, looking around at the mild chaos. “It’s cool, thug, I don’t mind a little proof that somebody lives here.”

He smooches Kravitz’s goofy grin again for good measure, his tail wagging vaguely behind him.

"Do you want me to go get my Ukulele? Or-" Kravitz kisses Taako, kisses Taako again, kisses him all over his perfect adorable face. He can't help it. He's just magnetically attracted.

Taako laughs breathlessly, trying to match his kisses. He’s so cute. Taako wants to Be Kissed, wants to be cherished and adored.

“Mmm,” he starts, nuzzling at Kravitz’s neck. “I think no matter what I’d like to hear you sing.”

He puts the emphasis on sing, makes it filthy purely by virtue of the way his lips brush his jaw as he says it. “Up to you, though.

"Mmmmm, I don't know how patient you are. What do you want more?" Kravitz might be rolling on his back and letting Taako take control, literally, but even thinking about that makes him warm all the way to the core. "I could make you a song, or, I could sing for you."

It’s a tough choice. Taako pauses, running his fingers gently through his hair, then smiles. “I wanna hear you play. We’ve got all night, after all.”

"I guess you're right." Kravitz grins, not particularly inclined to shove Taako off, but he sits up (and gives him another kiss) and slides off the couch. Maybe one more kiss. Then he pulls his ukulele off the empty tv stand and tucks it into his arm. 

"Any requests?"

Taako shakes his head, still smiling goofily at him. He pats the couch beside him because he’s fairly sure you can play the ukulele sitting down and he wants proximity, damn it.

“Whatever comes to mind. I wanna hear you, y’know?”

Kravitz laughs (he keeps doing it, he's laughed more today than he has all year) and sits by Taako, where he can do that amazing thing with his tail. 

"Maybe a little cheese?" 

He starts playing and singing, sweet and soft and deep. 

"Wise men say....only fools rush in...."

Oh. Oh. Taako’s face goes redder, his ears flicking back and forth wildly and his tail winding around Kravitz’s ankle. He’s beautiful. His voice, his hands, the soft little smile on his face...

Darling, so it goes.

"But I........can't......help........falling in love, with, you." 

He keeps going, belatedly realizing he chose a song that would show his whole ass and the only way to handle it is keep going like it's a performance, you know, rather than permanently gluing his hands to his face so he's never seen again. 

"-Some things....were meant to be...." Kravitz’s voice almost cracks, but he pulls a quick save with a little solo before singing the last few bars. He stops the vibrations with a gentle hand and look anywhere but at Taako. Clears his throat. 

"Um. There. I haven't, uh, performed for anyone in ages, so, um. You should feel...pretty special."

Taako’s eyes are blown wide, his lips just slightly parted as he stares. He’d briefly entertained the concept of messing with Kravitz as he played, but he was too quickly transfixed by the rich honey of his voice to do much but stare. 

He swallows mutely. “I do,” he murmurs. “I feel— Gods. You’re incredible.”

Kravitz's confidence boils over and his face flushes, dark and hot, and he forgets what to with his hands, almost dropping his ukulele. 

"Ha- Um- I didn't mean to, um. Tease you into complimenting me, I just- it's been a while and I know I'm pretty rusty-"

Those eyes are killing him. He wants to kiss Taako until his face turns a different color. 

Taako takes his face in his hands and kisses Kravitz hard, hungry and warm. His inner monologue has stalled on the freeway while his heart rockets onward into the fucking sun and the only thing he has left to do is kiss Kravitz stupid.

“You’re perfect,” he breathes hoarsely, breaking for an instant between kisses. “I want— I don’t even know what but- gods.”

That's all the impetus Kravitz needs. He sets his ukulele down and wraps his arms around Taako, pulling him close and tight where he can touch every bit of him, kissing his mouth and face and neck, sucking soft marks into his delicate skin. 

"Welcome to my home," he says, breathless and dorky, and he pulls Taako further into his lap.

Taako’s breath hitches at the feeling of Kravitz marking him, the basest, horniest part of his hindbrain drop-kicking his ability to think straight out a window, and he crawls eagerly into Kravitz’s lap when he’s tugged, clinging just as desperate as he is. 

“Hell of a welcome,” he breathes, laughing, before kissing him again. “Hey, never stop doing that? Just kiss me forever, thanks.”

Kravitz has no problem complying with that particular request. He slides Taako's jacket off his shoulders to get better access to his neck, his soft soft skin, his rabbity heartbeat. He wants to take Taako apart slowly, taste by taste, but he doesn't know if he can be that patient.

“Ah—” Taako shucks his jacket more than willingly, shivering at Kravitz’s attentions. “Tha’s good, Krav, you’re so good...”

He runs his fingers through his hair, tilting his head to give him better access. The cool of his hands is sweet and sharp, the occasional scrape of teeth fantastic, but he suddenly remembers he had a plan and he wants to go through with it.

Taako kisses Kravitz again, messy and hot, before sliding out of his lap and onto the floor. He nudges at his knees, staring up at him with burning eyes, and murmurs, “this okay?”

"Yes, oh my god, yes--" Kravitz is hardly processing this. He played one song and it turns into this? Taako is going to go wild the first time Kravitz actually writes him a song. 

Which. Apparently he's decided he's going to do. 

"Taako, you're amazing."

Taako hums his agreement, pushing his legs apart farther so that he can mouth at Kravitz’s cock through his pants, his eyes flicking up to catch Kravitz’s gaze. 

“Been wanting to do this all evening,” he murmurs, undoing the button on Kravitz’s jeans. He’s slowed down now that he’s where he wants to be, happy to take his time giving his love date what he deserves. “Sometime I’m gonna have you sing for me while I do this, see how long you can keep it together.”

Kravitz's voice cracks. 

"Sometime, but- but uh- but not- not this one- gods, Taako- fuck-" 

All evening??????? Taako's been thinking about it???? Him??? Blowing him??? Just because he likes him???? Fuuuuck????? 

"Seriously- I- what can I do for you?"

Taako grins up at him cheekily, nuzzling at his thigh. "You can stay right there and enjoy yourself," he says. "Bonus points for touching my hair."

It's a tough angle to maintain eye contact in, so he holds it for just another second before redirecting his attention to the task at hand. Mouth. Whatever. Privately Taako's hoping Kravitz will touch his ears --intentionally or otherwise-- but that's one weakness he is too embarrassed to speak out loud. Instead, he just tugs down Kravitz's fly and kisses him through his boxers, still purring faintly enough not to be heard but hard enough to feel. He's clinging to Kravitz's thigh with one hand and clumsily trying to undo his ponytail with the other, but it's not really working, per se.

"I can do that," Kravitz mumbles, smitten. Besotted. Head over heels. He runs his hands over it, soft at first, like he's been given permission to pet a pedigreed cat show champion once (1 time), but with Taako's permission, he cards his fingers through, loosing the ponytail elastic and letting it all free. It's impractical, but so, so incredibly hot. It's so soft and well cared for, perfect and gorgeous and his to play with. Kravitz goes in with both hands, massaging Taako's scalp and........... Mmmm.... he thinks he remembers..... from when they..... 

Tentatively, he teases the tip of one of Taako's ears.

Taako purrs happily as Kravitz toys with his hair. He’s a little distracted from the sensation by his Important Job of freeing Kravitz from the slit in his underwear, so he’s not expecting it when he touches his ear and doesn’t have time to control the way he jolts, moaning loudly and flicking his other ear wildly. Fuck. It’s been....a long time since anyone played with his ears, and he’d forgotten how intense it is, and he wants Kravitz to never ever stop. Pointedly, insistently, he pushes his ear against Kravitz’s hand. 

He takes the head of Kravitz’s cock in his mouth, half because that’s why he’s down here and half in the hopes that it’ll muffle the desperate mewling that threatens to spill out of him at every brush of cool fingers over his ear.

Kravitz gets the idea and uses that hand to stroke and play with Taako's ear, delighted by his strong reaction. It feels some type of way to get him back with the sensation, to draw these noises out of him like he's anywhere near as talented as Taako. But then Taako takes him, and Kravitz inhales like he missed a few steps on the stairs, and that purring is driving him wild.

"You're amazing, Taako," he repeats, he can't repeat enough.

It takes a considerable amount of willpower not to whimper pathetically at the combination of praise and touch, but he manages just to sort of hum-moan instead, bobbing his head. This he can handle. He’s good at this, damn it, and even if there’s a good chance he’ll be a puddle by the time Kravitz lets go of his ears he can fucking use his skills. 

Still, he leans against Kravitz’s hand, eyelids fluttering. It’s nice to be pampered, if he can cut off the part of him that blanches at the vulnerability response ear-rubs cause in him, the bit of him that’s still prickly and instinctive and untrusting. He kicks it until it shuts up and just enjoys the sensation, trying to make Kravitz feel just as good with his mouth as he’s making Taako feel with his hands.

Taako is too good at this. Kravitz doesn't want to make an ass of himself finishing before Taako's even gotten started, so he dumps all of his focus into making Taako feel just as nice as he does. He rubs both ears--together, stroking, or little circles, or following the delicate downy pattern on his skin-- struggling not to moan every time Taako lets loose a strangled noise Kravitz is going to hear in his dreams for years. 

And Kravitz talks, just babbles, because he can't stop himself and because Taako loves his voice and because his mouth aches to give Taako right back as good as he's getting. 

"Beautiful-- gorgeous- you're amazing you're so clever holy shit you're, youre so creative, Taako, I love your tongue, how do you do that, Taako, ohh, Taako, ohhhh Taako..."

Every touch is electric, and it doesn’t take long before Taako’s brain is more or less offline, functions reduced to horny mush. Any sense of dignity he’d tried to maintain is gone the second Kravitz touches both ears at once, and Taako is left a puddle, increasingly desperate whines muffled against Kravitz’s cock. 

He’s not really processing the words that are coming out of Kravitz’s mouth, but the tone would have him smiling if he could. Taako tamps down the concern that he’s getting uncomfortably close to coming untouched, shifting restlessly to rub his thighs together. 

Taako winds his tail around Kravitz’s ankle again as he works him with his tongue, purr getting to the level that if he could think he’d be considering making a toy that could replicate the effect. As it stands, his thoughts are mostly just a string of Kravitz’s name and sentimental nonsense.

Maybe a few moments ago Kravitz would have tried to offer to stop, if Taako wanted, maybe if he wanted to do something a little more physical, but Kravitz can't hold on. He can't. Taako is too fucking good. He tries not to hurt him--it would be terrible if he squeezed his ears and bruised him or something-- but with another purring moan from Taako, Kravitz falls apart. He comes with a low moan to harmonize with Taako's and a soft, loving, gentle squeeze of his ears. Those gorgeous ears. That amazing mouth. Amazing. 

"Taaako, Taaako.....fuck, Taako, Gods, Taako....I love you, Taako, fuck-" noise just falls out of him, pooling in pink hearts on the floor. In his state, blank and blissed, he wants nothing more than to kiss Taako and can't recall why he can’t. Soon, soon, soon, soon. 

Kravitz sighs and melts back against the couch.

Taako swallows as much as he can, given that his motor controls go straight out the window when he gets his ears pet, and then clumsily surges upwards, taking half a second to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand before he’s kissing Kravitz frantically, straddling one of his legs. 

”Kravitz,” he pants, “babe, I’m so—I need—“

Taako shakes his head and kisses him again, whining nonsense Elvish.

Kravitz kisses him back, amazed that Taako read his mind, and-- holy fuck, Taako, Taako is....very much into this. Kravitz is that much more enamoured. He wishes he could fuck Taako blind, but for the moment, he can still make him sing. 

He finds his way into Taako's pants, takes a breath and licks his fingers, strokes Taako and re-familiarizes himself with his beautiful, unique anatomy, uses one arm to hold him up and one hand to find the slick heat that needs him and he fingers Taako like his life depends on it. Fuck if Taako doesn't deserve to see stars after what he did to Kravitz. He kisses him until his vision gets fuzzy and then some. 

Taako kisses him hungrily until he can’t anymore, when he buries his face in his shoulder and keens, hips jerking against Kravitz’s clever fingers. 

“Fuck,” he mumbles after a moment, his whole body trembling. “Holy shit.”

Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako and holds him close, not thinking about his couch or his words or his evening or his responsibilities or the status of certain relationships. Right now all he wants is closeness, that tantalizing warmth radiating off of Taako. He could stay like this forever.

Taako wiggles a little to get comfy in his lap, tucking his face beneath Kravitz’s chin with a soft little huff. 

“Y’r great,” he mumbles, still foggy.

"You're beautiful," Kravitz mutters, leaving a little kiss on one of Taako's big perfect ears. He pulls them further onto the couch so he can just...hold Taako, and be held, and bask in the warm embrace of A Person he Really Likes. He closes his eyes and sighs into Taako's shoulder. He smells so fucking good. He's perfect. Honestly.

Taako’s ear fwaps Kravitz in the face on reflex when he kisses it, which makes him giggle. He’s a little loopy, maybe, but it’s fine. He’s great. He’s kind of sticky and gross but Kravitz is cool and soft and wants to hold him and Taako is a simple bitch that wants to get held.

He nuzzles at his chin, purring sleepily. “Beautiful Kravitz,” he mumbles, sing-song. “Sweet boy. Handsome boy.”

Kravitz's heart aches and he pulls Taako closer, or at least tries. He's already so close. He wants to live inside this moment forever. Maybe in a minute or so, they’ll come back to the world and clean up or go to bed, but for right now, this warmsoft place is home. 

"Sweet, sweet, sweet..."

Taako’s eyelids flutter. He should really insist on cleaning up, but...Kravitz is so nice, and he’s still all vulnerability-response warmsoftsafe from the ear rubs, and he really can’t be fucked to bother with things like hygiene or the fact that if they fall asleep like this their backs will regret it. 

”Love, love,” he mumbles, reverting back to his first language in his sleepiness but maintaining that sing-song tone.

The sound flicks in Kravitz's ears as familiar, but he doesn't quite catch the meaning. That's okay. The tone is sweet and it rings in his chest as something warm and good and right, and Kravitz couldn't be happier, except that he almost puts his elbow through his ukulele. So. 

"Hold on," he says, and picks Taako up and hauls him to the bedroom, to his definitely unmade nest of blankets and soft pillows. He doesn’t want to let go, but he also does not want to stay in this outfit, so he sets Taako down and strips lightning fast so he can join him in the bed. In bed!!!!! With Taako!!!! The wine is setting in and mixing with his powdered bones to make concrete and there's no greater feeling than slipping in under the covers and taking his favorite person with him.

Taako takes a moment to be thrilled at being carried before he yeets his own jeans and shirt off into the aether while Kravitz is busy doing the same. The blankets are soft and worn, and Kravitz is soft and cool, and Taako’s brain is soft in general, so it’s easy to curl up in his boyfriend’s arms and purr himself half asleep. 

“Hey,” he says, voice muffled in Kravitz’s skin. “Hey, Krav.”

"Myyyeah, Taako?" Kravitz buries themselves in sheets and blankets and other soft things. He hopes, dimly, far away from himself, that Taako doesn't overheat. Kravitz is always too cold, and he always sleeps with about seven million heavy blankets to stay warm..

“Hey, Krav,” Taako says again, giggling. “Kravitz. Krrrravitz. Did you know.....that I like you. You’re great. I wanna smooch you a million times.”

He’s mostly asleep already; Kravitz is a full-body cool side of the pillow, which combined with the Blanket Nest makes Taako The Coziest Man Alive.

"Better get started." Kravitz is so drowsy now. So so warm and heavy and tired. He wraps himself around Taako and kisses him. "One."

Kisses him again.

"Two."

Taako falls asleep halfway through six. It’s so easy; he’s so warm, inside and out, so completely, inexplicably willing to trust this man he only met a month ago with every part of him. He falls asleep purring, soft tail flicking slowly against the mattress, with nothing in his mind but love.

Kravitz wakes up tangled in blankets and Taako, more comfortable and happy than he has been in years. A little sticky. Horrible dry mouth, so almost certainly hideous breath. But Taako is there. 

Taako is there. His heart sings. Taako is here, in his home, not just with him but tangled in his arms, snuggling as close as he can get as though even if they could merge on the molecular level it still wouldn’t be enough. Kravitz is going to explode, or disintegrate, or, or, or enjoy the moment as much as possible while it lasts. He smiles softly at Taako, loath to wake him, and watches the way his eyes flutter behind still sparkling eyelids as he dreams.

Taako’s grip tightens minutely around his chest when he feels him move, but he doesn’t wake up, instead just makes a soft noise and buries his face in Kravitz’s shoulder, the tip of his tail flicking where it’s wound around his ankle.

He's perfect. Oh gods. That tail is wrapped around Kravitz’s heart and he's not going to ask him to let go. Taako is just, he's just, he's perfect. He's exactly what Kravitz needed. He....fits. 

Kravitz moves in close and kisses him on the forehead. Too cozy to handle.

“Mm?” Taako’s ear flicks at the kiss and he yawns wide, sharp teeth evident for a moment before he mumbles something else and snuggles in closer. 

“‘S’it mornin’?” His voice is muffled by Kravitz’s skin, but distinct enough.

Holy fuck, Kravitz is in love. 

"Myeah, but go'head 'n sleep." Kravitz kisses him on the head again for good measure. 

Hold the fuck. 

................Love? 

.......OH SHIT.


	10. Trial Ten--Trying Out the L Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L is for the way Kravitz looks at Taako....O is for the only one Taako sees...V is for very, very, extraordinary, and E is for eldritch tentacles? The lads finally say The Four-Letter Word. 
> 
> Maybe instead it should be Domestic-Unrepentant-Makeout-Boys?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The domesticity in this one makes my heart sing, honestly. 
> 
> Thank you for your amazing comments!!!!!!!!!!! Keep em coming as we rocket toward being caught up! They mean so much to us, you have no idea.

“‘S’it mornin’?” Taako’s voice is muffled by Kravitz’s skin, but distinct enough.

Holy fuck, Kravitz is in love. 

"Myeah, but go'head 'n sleep." Kravitz kisses him on the head again for good measure. 

Taako blinks sleepily, field of vision entirely dominated by cool brown skin. “Nah, ‘m awake, if I pass out again I’ll give myself a headache.”

Despite this, he doesn’t really make any effort to move, just snuggles up close to Kravitz and presses a little kiss to his jaw. “You sleep okay?”

"Mhm." Hopefully Taako doesn't notice Kravitz has rocketed up a pitch. What the fuck did he say last night?? Lubricated by most of a bottle of wine and Taako's sweet, sweet talents, he could have said any combination of dumb shit. But in the harsh, sterile light of the morning breaking through his blackout curtains, Kravitz knows for sure the word love was in there somewhere, and also that he's fucked, and Taako is going to be uncomfortable with him.

Taako, for his part, is completely fucking oblivious to Kravitz’s inner turmoil; he’s too sleepy to notice the change in his voice, and was too blissed out last night to register anything that he said. 

Not to mention what he said himself. Taako is suddenly, vehemently glad that he doesn’t speak Common when he’s loopy, because Kravitz would be so uncomfortable if he just...confessed immediately after giving him a blowjob, that would be so weird!!

Kravitz shoves that terror down as far as it will go and resigns himself not to freak out about it while Taako is still in his bed. He has plenty of time to do that later, alone.

"I don't know what to do for breakfast," He says, voice still morning-rough and a little unsteady. "Would you be insulted if I offered you a poptart?"

“Depends on the flavor,” Taako chirps, not missing a beat. He sits up reluctantly, stretching his cramped legs. “If you say unfrosted I will be appalled, but your boy has fucked up a choco fudge or two in his day.”

"Are you telling me you don't make a high-production gourmet entree for every meal?" Kravitz is teasing, but he was a little concerned that Taako would look down on him for eating garbage. "No, I've got the brown ones and the purple and blue ones. I also haaaaave....Generic Captain Crunch."

Taako snorts. “My sister’s just as good a cook as me — don’t tell her I said that — and I swear she’d subsist entirely on frozen hot pockets and spicy cheetos if her husband wasn’t around.”

After kissing Kravitz’s cheek, Taako stands, wagging his tail vaguely behind him. “You pick. I’m pretty easy to please, honestly.”

Kravitz is in love with that tail. And now that he's allowed himself to think that, that word, it's just going to keep popping up in his dumb dumb stupid brain, because, and this is the worst part, it's true. He loves Taako. He loves his tail and his teeth and his smile (a very different thing from his teeth, for the record) and his attitude and confidence and creativity and the way he talks and the way he moves and the way he reacted when Kravitz finally showed up last night, his eyes sparkling and the rest of him relaxed. Kravitz......is in love. And he's fucked. 

"Pick what, sorry?" Kravitz scrambles out of bed and remembers belatedly that he didn't wear anything to bed, because he trips over what he didn't wear to bed. He should shower. They both should shower. They should kiss in the shower.

“The pop-tart flavor, dingus,” Taako says warmly, catching Kravitz’s hand as he comes close so he can tug him in for a kiss that’s a little gross by virtue of not having brushed their teeth last night. “We should probably clean up first, though.”

"My shower isn't very big, but we could try it?" Kravitz doesn't want to be more than a foot away from him. That tail tethering him possessively to Taako is giving him butterflies native to Jurassic Park. "Oh, and um. I can get you a toothbrush. You could, you could even keep it here, if you, wanted, maybe, for this to be something that, happens in the future?"

Taako smiles at him and pats his cheek fondly, all affection. "Might be a good plan. You got a spare here, or should I tide myself over with magic until we wanna get dressed enough to go to a convenience store?"

A shower sounds nice, too. Taako's mind wiggles with the idea of maybe potentially pushing someone up against a tile wall, but he figures that might be a little more dangerous here, where there aren't magic cushion creatures everywhere to catch them, than it is at home.

"Oh, I have a replacement one. I think you get to choose between orange and orange." Kravitz, unwilling to break away from Taako, gestures uselessly at his bathroom closet, where all of his extra stuff resides. He may be shit at cooking, but he at least always has a spare package of toilet paper. 

"You could go first if you want," he offers, meaning the shower. As fun as it would be to try and share it, it would be dramatically more practical to take turns. He also wants to offer Taako the chance to have a moment alone, if he needs it. Kravitz knows his own brain is screaming at him, and not about pop tarts.

Taako kisses his cheek. “Yeah, might be best for our bones to keep the shower sharing to my giant bathroom,” he says. “I’ll only be a sec.”

For all that his bathroom now is luxurious as fuck, Taako’s more than used to less magic showers, so he doesn’t even flinch when the he steps under a still-cold spray, just scrubs at the places on his face where haphazard rubbing and a million kisses hadn’t got rid of mess. He realizes as he’s doing it that they never really got all the ceramic glaze stain off their hands either, beyond the cursory rinse the store offered. Hm.

While Taako cleans up, Kravitz pops them some tarts, starts some coffee, and brushes his teeth at the kitchen sink. He throws away the contacts he accidentally fell asleep in, rubbing his eyes like that'll encourage them to rehydrate and behave, and he locates his dumb glasses so he can see past the end of his nose. He stands there and yawns for a minute, nearly debating getting back in bed. But he has A Guest.

Taako wanders out into the kitchen with a towel around his hair as Kravitz is yawning, and he has to pause for a moment to attempt to prevent a glasses-and-cute-yawn induced heart attack. He's so cute. Fuck.

He sidles up behind Kravitz and wraps his arms around him. It doesn't....quite work, since he's too short to prop his chin on his shoulder, but a hug is a hug, and Taako is nothing if not a slut for cuddles. 

"I didn't know you wore glasses."

"I do," Kravitz says stupidly, not sure what else to say about the matter. "I mean, I don't usually, but I do at home? Usually I wear contacts, they're less dorky?" Fuck. 

"All done?" Of course he is, Kravitz, or he wouldn't be out here! To shut himself up, he turns a bit to pull Taako into a proper hug, burying his idiot mouth in planting a kiss to grow in Taako's fresh, clean hair. 

"Coffee's on. I'll shower in just a mo."

Taako takes a moment to luxuriate in the cool feeling of Kravitz’s skin. He thinks he should maybe worry about his circulation, but he seems ..... fine.....? It’s fine. 

“They’re cute,” he says belatedly, tapping one of the arms of Kravitz’s glasses. “You look nice.”

"Thanks," Kravitz says, awkward receiving a compliment on something he isn't a big fan of. "I guess maybe you're a fan of dorky." He grins and, after a second, kisses Taako on the cheek. It's wildly domestic, smelling fresh coffee and clean Taako right out of the shower, and he can imagine a maybe, a time in the future where they get to live and wake up in the same place. Fuck, he's weak. 

"I am, but you look hot in glasses regardless," he insists, laughing softly at the kiss. "Now, my glasses? My big circular wire-frames that I got in nineteen twenty-seven? Those are dorky.”

Hurriedly, Kravitz gets Taako a mug, his favorite unicorn one, and gets himself one with Garfield in a space suit that says GREG on the side. 

"How do you take your coffee?"

“Uh, I've been told I, quote, 'like a few drops of coffee with my sugar,' which is rude but probably also not that far off." Taako admires the unicorn mug, turning it this way and that to appreciate the colors. "This is adorable." 

"I would love to see you in glasses, Taako." Kravitz gets himself some flavored cream from the fridge and fills Taako's mug two thirds full, pushing the sugar toward him for his discretion. 

"Thanks, I collect them. Weird mugs, I mean. Thrift stores usually have the best ones." He holds up a High School Musical one for good measure. "It's fun to see which ones fit which people. I kind of figured you'd like that one."

Taako dumps an unconscionable amount of sugar into his mug, staring at it like he’d somehow be able to taste its sucrose levels with his eyes. As an afterthought he adds a tiny amount of Kravitz’s cream, then takes a sip, makes an unreadable face, and takes another, larger sip. 

“I like ‘em,” he says, nodding to the mugs. “This one is cute, and I really dig that gay one.” The mug in question sports another rainbow and tilts completely sideways, proclaiming “I’m so gay I can’t even drink straight”. It appears to be nearly impossible to practically drink out of. 

"Thanks. My mom's wife gave me that one. Can you believe she mailed it to me with a note that said 'You need this more than I do'? I felt so targeted for weeks, and I called my mom and she laughed her damn head off." 

Kravitz fills his mug with half cream and half coffee, and then he drinks most of the mess in one go. He blinks slowly, then figures he probably ought to shower. Maybe shave. He rubs his chin thoughtfully and it makes a scratchy sound.

"Your mom is rad," Taako says. "It must run in the family." He watches Kravitz drink his cup of cream and bean, smiling softly. His stubble is cute. His glasses are cute. He's so fucking cute. Taako wants to take him home and keep him safe and warm forever, kept and held and hishishis.

He shakes the feeling off with a flick of his ears and just tugs him down to kiss his cheek instead.

Kravitz smiles goofily at him. He can't believe Taako is into All This, but he'll sure take it. 

"I'm gonna shower and probably shave so don't freak if it takes me more than a few minutes? You can have those pop tarts I toasted or you can try to make yourself something but like, fair warning? There isn't much in the way of food going on here."

"Gotcha, handsome man's gotta take his time getting even more handsome. Have a good shower, I'll go to town on these here toaster pastries. Really show 'em what's what."

Taako stretches his arms languidly above his head, glad he'd worn a soft enough t-shirt last night he could pretend it counted as pajamas and doubly glad that it's just short enough to ride up when he stretches, a soft little strip of skin showing between it and his briefs. Your move, unfairly hot boy.

He should probably go home soon and put on real, not-recycled clothes, but he has absolutely no desire to do so. None. He wants to sit on Kravitz's lap and feed him bits of slightly burnt pop tart.

Between handsome and Taako's little bit of belly showing, Kravitz nearabouts short circuits. He can't handle this kind of attack, and in his own home, no less!! Taako is going to kill him and bring him back to life in the same breath like it's some kind of joke, and Kravitz is going to walk headfirst into it.

He kisses Taako and goes and takes a shower instead, the whole time thinking about Taako being in his shower, his bed, his kitchen, his arms, his heart. 

That, and how badly he wants to reciprocate Taako's fantastic oral skill demonstration. Again.

When Kravitz comes back out, Taako is curled on his couch looking at his phone. There’s a small frown on his face, but it seems to be more one of concentration than anything else.

One of his ears perks up at the sound of footsteps, and he smiles softly, tapping the screen once before he glances up at Kravitz. “Nice time?” 

Kravitz slides right over and wraps his arms around Taako from an awkward angle, tilting his head up to kiss him with his fresh clean face. 

"What do you think?" he says, then, because he can't help it, "You smell good in my soap."

Gay. Fuck, he's gay. 

"How were the breakfast accommodations?"

Taako leans up to smile at Kravitz, pecking the corner of his lips. "I'm loving the just-clean shirtless look, gotta say," he says. "And the pop tarts were exactly as pop tarts should be, my compliments to the chef."

He tugs at Kravitz' arm, hoping to pull him onto the couch. "C'mere, gorgeous."

"Oh good, always glad to impress the master chef."

Kravitz can't resist an order, and he joins Taako on the couch, fully expecting to get a lap full of elf. His skin is still warm from the water, and all he could find to put on were his soft purple sweatpants. He needs to do laundry more often. He hadn't been planning to entertain last night, but he also hadn't been planning to have that much wine.

Kravitz's prediction is proved correct immediately as Taako clambers into his lap, winding his arms around his neck loosely and tapping their foreheads together briefly.

"Handsome boy," he mumbles, letting go with one arm to skim his palm across the planes of Kravitz's chest. "Gorgeous boy, sweet boy. You're so nice to hold on to."

"You're buttering me up, you are." Kravitz kisses him. "And it's working." 

He wraps his arms around Taako like he belongs there. Which he does, of course. There's no place he'd rather have him be. 

"What's all this about?"

"I just like you," Taako hums, kissing his cheek. "And I'm still sleepy, and I get touchy when I'm sleepy. You have to keep hugging me forever, it's the rules."

"Forever? Then I better enjoy it while I can." Kravitz gets cozy against him, closing his eyes. This is perfect, beyond his wildest dreams. A few weeks ago he might have laughed if someone said he'd be so touchy with another live person, but now it feels like home. "You're turning me into a cuddler."

Taako tucks himself comfortably against his chest with a huff, his tail looping around one of Kravitz' arms. "Good. My evil plot is working."

"Evil? Does that make me a henchman? I don't know how I feel about that."

Kravitz could fall back asleep like this, whether or not his back approved. But it's so nice. His feelings, warm and magenta, struggle to spin themselves into coherent thought, and Kravitz can hardly bring himself to protest.

"Hmmmm," Taako says, blindly finding Kravitz's hand and interlinking their fingers. "No, you're the beautiful and good person who sweeps into my life and convinces me to change paths to the side of the righteous. You know, through the power of love."

Wait. Oops.

Was Taako teasing him, or...reciprocating? Kravitz is instantly sweaty. He wants to pry it out casually, calmly, coolly, without panic, but what comes out is,

"Power- p- lo- power of love? Love?"

Ah, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Taako said The Thing and now he's freaked Kravitz out, shit.

"I just, uh- I was- you know, there's that whole, um, uh, that whole trope, I wasn't... don't. Worry about it," Taako says, voice a frantic ramble. "It's. Uh."

He trails off. Gods damn it.

Taako getting nervous means--well, it has to mean it's legitimate, right???? Kravitz laughs, probably sounding near-hysterical. 

"Love- you- Oh my god- love- it- I- love?????? Love?????" 

Kravitz tries to collect himself so he doesn't scare the shit out of Taako, but it's so hard when he’s this relieved. 

"I'm- love you!" He cracks up, nearly knocking Taako off his lap and having to pull him closer.

Taako squawks as he's grabbed, breaking into laughter and hugging Kravitz at the same time. He's having a hell of a morning, and he'll probably have a crisis over this once he's alone at home, but at this moment Taako's just full of joy and love and warmth, and pop tarts, also, but mostly the first three.

"I'm love you too, you weirdo," he giggles, peppering his face with clumsy kisses.

"I'm- fuck-" Kravitz can't pull himself together and Taako isn't helping. "I- said it last night- and I remembered, and, and, and, and, and I remembered- I said- love- and I was so- Taako, I was so, I, thought you'd feel weird, because we've only, we've just, but I do, I do, I do love you? You- you make my heart sing!"

Taako absolutely loses it laughing, his barrage of face smooches not really making it easier for Kravitz to formulate a sentence. "I-I didn't realize you said, I thought you'd think I was coming on too strong--last night, I was, when I said love," he switches briefly to his native tongue, the same way he'd been doing the previous night, "-that's, it means--Kravitz, are we really dumb?"

"Taako, we're so dumb! How are we going to- to-to- if we're here- is that elvish? It's beautiful- if we're- where do we go from here?? Is that bad? You do, don't you? I do, I, I do love you, oh my gods I said it, Taako-"

"It's......like elvish," Taako says, and then switches subjects. "We're stupid, I love you, I love you, holy shit." He presses their faces together, purring. "I have no idea where we go from here. We just...do what feels right, I guess."

"I love you," Kravitz says, the shape of it still novel in his mouth. "What feels right? Because I want to- last night you were so good, I want to do that to you, i want, I want everything with you, and- I want to wake up with you and drink coffee with you and watch cooking shows with you and be with you, and-" Kravitz laughs, still pitched a little high. 

"I think we have had...two dates??"

"Two dates...." Taako says, staring into the middle distance. "My sister and her husband took forty-seven years to get together. She's gonna make fun of me forever, but honestly? Worth it."

He pauses, thinking about what else Kravitz said. Whether he wants Kravitz to blow him is an easy ask; of course he does, he's got a pulse. But past that...it's genuinely scary how good the idea of waking up next to him every day is, how warm he feels inside at the image of Kravitz coming home to him in the evenings; he's struck by just how much this man means to him, how quickly he's burrowed his way into Taako's long-walled off heart.

"I guess the only proper recourse is to plan a third," Kravitz says, all faux-formal, and instantly he dissolves into giggles again. 

And gods above and below, 47? 

"I hope her husband is an elf too, fuck. That's a long time to pine." Kravitz can't handle being serious. He's too giddy and laughs at his own slant rhyme.

Taako grins at him. “They both spent that whole time complaining to me about how much they wanted to confess. Dumbasses.”

He catches Kravitz’s lips in a quick kiss, then says, “We should catch a movie or something sometime. Really cheese it up.”

"Both of them!! Why didn't you say anything???" Kravitz can't imagine. He would straight up die first. "What- how- 47 years, Taako!! That's too much! If you do that to me, I'll- I'll- cry! Let's have our movie in this decade, if you please!"

“I did!!” Taako insists, rolling his eyes. “Every time—oh, it’s not the right time, oh I don’t wanna jeopardize our friendship, ohhh but what about our jobs— ugh!!! I refuse to do that, I’m gonna be ridiculously zippy about it! You’ll see.”

"Prove it! When is our next date? Call it now." Kravitz would fold his arms dramatically if they weren't full of Taako, but he's comfortable doing a hold. "When is our date and what are we doing on it?" 

Kravitz thinks for a moment before ammending-- "Does me testing your products count?"

Taako hums, considering. “Those are....half dates. Almost dates. And you have a real job, babe, I don’t know your schedule! But I’m free day after tomorrow, if you wanna see a movie.”

"Okay, okay, okay," Kravitz concedes. "I'll look at my schedule and get back to you. But we're definitely going on another date, and soon. And. And." He fidgets a little. "I mean, we're adults, we don't. We don't have to go on a date to do, things."

“Ooh, things,” Taako repeats, making the word filthy by intonation. “What kind of things was my very favorite handsome man thinking, hm?”

"Wellyouknowthings," Kravitz says, all in one breath and getting warmer by the second. "I want to, you know, I want to, reciprocate, and, more, maybe, and, well, use, some things, some of, your inventions, perhaps, and, have, you know, a nice time-"

“You’re cute,” Taako says. “It’s hard for you to ask for specific things, isn’t it? We’ll have to work on that.” 

The way he says it is less a criticism and more a promise, the implication of you’ll learn how to beg clear in his face. “You thinkin’ right now, or is this just a nebulous future good time?”

That look makes Kravitz weak, and he was already so delicate to start with, especially with words like love getting thrown around. His lower lip trembles a bit. 

"I could, ah, be, convinced, in, uh, either direction. Depending on, the other party's, um. Interest in....collaboration."

“Mm,” Taako murmurs, kissing those pretty lips. “Depends. One, do you have work today, and two, how interested are you in gettin’....elaborate?”

"Um, no work and yes interested? I work tomorrow though. If that influences. Any decisions you might make. About me, or what we, do together." 

Kravitz is not less sweaty than he was before.

"Hmm, how about this," Taako purrs, shifting to straddle his lap. He takes Kravitz' face in his hands, one thumb coming to rest just below his lips. "I'm gonna go home and get some stuff ready, and you are going to think of something specific you want before you come over, and then you can tell me what you're thinkin', real detailed. And..."

He presses a slow, burning kiss to Kravitz' lips and murmurs, "Well. And then we can see where we go from there, huh?"

"Hhhhhokay." Specific. Kravitz is going to explode. He's going to run away and join the circus. All of the things he could want, all the things he could ask for, and Taako, with his hundreds of years of experience, is asking him to decide. And he's doing it on purpose.

"Fuck, um. Any, uh suggestions?" He's burning suddenly, right under his skin, like Taako's done some magic on him and he was helpless to resist.

"Dollface, the idea is that you make some suggestions," Taako laughs, tugging on Kravitz's ear teasingly. "Don't worry, I'll still call the shots if you want me to, I just wanna hear some fantasies presented by Kravitz Entertainment, LLC. Really get into your head as I get into your pants, you feel?"

"Yep, um, yeah. Yeah. Right. Gotcha." The ear. Fantasies. It's all too much. How is he going to decide? What can he even ask for?? 

"Wh, when, um, when, you, when should I meet you?" How long does he have to stew over this?????

Taako considers this. He has a couple things he needs to do; he needs to open the shop at least briefly, needs to make sure he has enough neat stuff around to give Kravitz a good time, and most of all he needs enough time to make the cute boy he's perched on top of squirm.

He glances at the nearest clock. It's about ten-thirty in the morning. "Let's say...six, okay? Come hydrated."

"Right, right, right, right, yeah, yeah." Oh boy. Ohhh boy. That's about one million hours in anticipation time. That's, fuck, six and half and one, almost 8 hours, almost a workday, and Taako's going to make him stew on what he wants and then articulate what he wants and Kravitz will straight up evaporate. 

Taako is doing this to him on purpose. Trying to make him more familiar with these things and more confident with, with asking for, things, things that he wants, done, you know, done to him sexually, and fuck he hopes it works because if it's always going to be this embarrassing, he's going to be in physical pain every time they negotiate these things.

“Oh, shit, that reminds me—“ Taako leans off the couch a little, trusting Kravitz to keep him from falling, and snags his jacket from where it had been cast aside the previous night. He pulls out a folded sheaf of paper that shouldn’t, by all rights, have fit in the pocket he gets it from, putting it down beside them. “This is, uh, it’s a list of like.... kinks and stuff? I meant to give it to you yesterday, but I got distracted. Just, um, just circle your feelings for each of them—it should make thinking about this shit easier, and also, you know, give me a clearer frame of reference.”

Taako pauses. “I know giving you homework isn’t the spiciest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s important. I didn’t include anything that’s a hard no from me on there at all but otherwise I didn’t put my opinions because I didn’t want to influence you, okay cool here.”

This all comes out in one breath, his tail twisting behind him. “I still want a word picture when you come by, though.”

"Oh my gods thank you." A list. A LIST!!!!!!!! Kravitz can handle a list. He can pick from a series of choices. He can--it'll still be hard, but on paper, that's so much better than starting with a look in the eyes and opening his mouth and letting his darkest self secrets come out before he knows them and oh gods what a relief, Kravitz kisses Taako. 

"I'll- I don't mind, I'll look through it, don't worry. I. Don't mind at all."

Taako kisses him, laughing. "I'm glad. I actually have these at the store, I give 'em away for free to people who're just starting with kink. Uh, the ones I give out actually have slightly more stuff on them, but, like I said, I cut out anything that there's no chance of me doing. I have one of these already filled in, but I'll show it to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Kravitz says, kissing him back with a smile. He's already a bit more relaxed. Say what you will about his need for structure.....................but don't say it in his earshot. He's more delicate than he appears. "I'll go through it, and, you know, try to work it out, and, no hard feelings if I just, am not interested in something, right?" 

He's seen a lot of, well, not a lot of porn, in comparison to lots of people he's known, but a lot of allusions and references to porn, and he knows what kind of things are out there, especially with Taako's limit-breaking power. He doesn't want to stumble into something so wild he can't crawl back out of. Also, he's not a prude, and he's into some Things, but there are others he doesn't even want to think about. 

Then again, that's probably normal, right?

Taako takes Kravitz' face in his hands, looking him seriously in the eyes. "Kravitz, the only hard feelings I could possibly have are if you don't want something but pretend to for my sake. I want you to tell me what you don't want, so that I know I'm taking care of you. Your safety is infinitely more important than any kink I might have, okay?"

Kravitz heart explodes in his chest and leaves little bits of confetti in his lungs. At a loss for words, 'cause of all the confetti up ins, he kisses Taako like his life depends on it. How do you say ‘no one has ever taken care of me like this before’ with your own mouth? Are there words in common for ‘you care more about me than anyone I've ever met’ or ‘this is the first relationship I've had like this’ or ‘thank you for giving a shit about my needs’? He doesn't know how to say it, so he hopes it comes through in a different way. He definitely isn't blinking very fast or avoiding eye contact when he pulls away, but he manages a hoarse, 

"Thanks, Taako."

Something in Taako's heart cracks a little at how hard that hit him, how fucking surprised Kravitz is when Taako treats him well. Taako knows what it's like to be lonely, and it almost hurts to see such a beautiful person living it; it's all he can do to just kiss him back, purring comfortingly, trying to get through to him that he loves him and wants him to be happy.

"'Course, babe, you deserve it. Do you want me to hang around a little longer, or should I head out?"

"I don't know," Kravitz says, then "I think you're okay," then pulls him in for a hug, a real one, which is a bit difficult from their respective positions but it does his exploded heart good. He really does love Taako. He loves that purr, he loves his smile, his dedication, his knowing eyes and understanding kindness. He loves what they have. He loves what they could have, what this could blossom into, if they don't fuck up. 

"I love you." It just bursts out, lacking room to hold it all in. "I'll see you later. And. I'll wear something nice."

Taako squeezes him, taking a deep breath against his neck. He loves him. He loves him. It's been like a month since they met and he loves him, wants to hold him close forever.

"You'd make a trash bag look nice, babe," he says, kissing his temple. "I love you. See you at six, text me if you need me."

Taako doesn't stand, not immediately. It's so nice to hold him.

Kravitz gives Taako one more kiss, okay, one more. Okay, maybe a baker's dozen. But he sees him to the door, and waves, and smiles like a fool in his purple sweatpants and dopey love-struck expression. And then he sets to work on Taako's list. Which is. A lot, to take in.

Taako's subtle about making Kravitz's apartment door open into his shop, and lets the portal vanish again after. Kravitz would feel better if he had some time on the way there to think, he's pretty sure, but Taako collapses straight onto a cushion that might be a mimic and hollers for some forty seconds. Holy shit.

Okay. Responsibilities. He waves a hand at the door to open the shop for the day, running upstairs at the same time so he can throw on a big, faded-purple sweater and a couple necklaces, and Kravitz loves him, and he needs to stop thinking about it or else he's gonna spend the entire day smiling goofily at the wall.

He goes downstairs, flopping into his chair behind the counter with the closest thing he has at the moment to composure. 

...

He looooooooooooooooooves him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kravitz spends half an hour after Taako leaves laying on the floor, processing all he just went through. Taako loves him??????????? He loves Taako?????????? He admitted that he loves Taako out loud and Taako reciprocated multiple times!!!! 

And then he gets up, and immediately lays in bed for another hour. Taako is going to make him itemize and evaluate his sexual interests, propose a scenario, come with a plan in mind, hours later? And also he loves him? Taako loves Kravitz? Kravitz is loved by a person??? (Who is not his moms?) It's wild. It's almost too wild to conceive. But it's real and it's true and it's happening this afternoon and Taako expects him to be ready and Kravitz can't disappoint him. 

So he finally gets up, and pulls a chair up to his table, which he has to clean off, oh gods he let Taako witness his HOME, and he carefully, thoughtfully, only stopping to scream and cover his face every third item, goes through the list Taako gave him. It's a process. 

Taako spends his day idly wondering what Kravitz thinks of the list. Based on what he knows, he’s probably embarrassed but intrigued, and dedicated to doing it Just Right—it’s cute, how much he wants to be perfect for him, even if Taako hopes he’ll realize soon that he doesn’t have to be. 

He loves him. Gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Larissa actually made this kink list and we filled it out for the characters. Check it out here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tl4PCBw13z3HsZF1EER_U11eJUXol_jv3o1YkEcTkdM/edit?usp=sharing ) if that interests you, or make a copy of the blank one here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gciw1uoYYn5qDK9Z7kR01bOx8pldfN6-ysVT48icl8o/edit?usp=sharing) for your own dark needs! This is based off the Bad Girl's Bible BDSM Checklist.


	11. Trial Eleven--Bondage and Keys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After talking about their surveys, Taako and Kravitz have a very nice time with shibari and tentacles. After all of the hot and heavy stuff is over, a shocking amount of l-o-v-e is left. What Happens Next Will Shock You!!!!!!
> 
> In this chapter:  
> rope bondage  
> tentacle sex  
> anal sex  
> praise kink  
> kink negotiation  
> discussion of keys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've come to an end of sorts!! We hope you loved it and we've been blown away by the comments of those of you who did! This isn't the end-end, but we have caught up to present and we may eventually publish some one-shots in the series as things continue. 
> 
> If this fic awakened things in you, cheered you up, made you cover giggles, made you blush in a public place, left an arcane symbol above your bedroom door, or just plain gave you a spark of pleasantness in the darkness, leave one last comment for us!! It means more than you'll ever know to see that all of this time we've spent has made a difference!
> 
> Thank you!

At five o’ clock, Taako closes the store, flitting back up to his apartment to try and pick something to wear. It’s tough; he wants to project control without breaking Kravitz, after all. So...he lets some of the tendrils he usually hides in his back unfurl and trail around his legs like half of a particularly odd skirt, putting on lacy black shorts and a soft tank top for good measure. He hopes it doesn’t alarm Kravitz, to see how many extra limbs Taako can have. This isn’t even all of them.

Kravitz heads out of his house to search for the shop a little early, dressed in a floaty black shirt with shiny buttons and simple black skinny jeans. He hopes he looks like a sexy goth pirate and not a dumb goth jackass, but that remains to be seen. Really, he won't be wearing it for too long. The good part is his boots, though, laced all the way up his calves and a little hard to walk in with a chunky heel he hasn't practiced quite often enough. He feels equal parts silly and bootylicious. It's a hard life, but someone has to live it. 

Ruining his look a bit, he has a messenger bag packed tightly with a whole extra (more comfortable) outfit, the list, some things he might need if he stays the night, and his Idea, which he ended up writing out rather than get forced to say it out loud at first. It'll help him collect his thoughts. Gods, he's such a nerd. Taako gave him homework and Kravitz wrote him an essay. 

Well, at least Taako'll know what he's in for, if they're committing to this.

Taako lets the door manifest at half past five, hoping nobody but Kravitz will notice it; his find-me spell isn’t perfect, but it should work. 

He’s anxious in general, today. Being with Kravitz is simultaneously confusing and frighteningly, shatteringly easy, and he doesn’t want to mess it up. He clears extraneous junk off his bed, batting aside curious tendrils when they try to grab his hands, trying to make it look soft and inviting enough to counterbalance the big chest of bondage equipment sitting open next to it. 

When he hears the door open, Taako takes a second for one final pillow-muffled shriek, then brushes off his thighs and drifts downstairs, his hair floating soft around his shoulders.

Kravitz left too early, hoping not to repeat the sins of their last date. Is this even a date? Is it just a dick appointment? Does it matter when you're in love? He ended up pacing the streets where Taako's shop would normally slip itself in between the casual stores for regular people and buying a bouquet of flowers. Hopefully he's not coming on too strong. Can he, at this point?? 

When the door finally appears (Kravitz checks his watch and laments his eagerness) he walks in, then hesitates, wondering if he should have knocked or something, wondering if he's doing this right, wondering if Taako's even going to be there, and he texts Taako his arrival. Close enough. 

And then Taako appears, like a vision from above, his hair an angelic cloud and Kravitz is weak at the knees. He's so in love. He's ??? In love??? With Taako????? He clutches the bouquet too tight and wishes he'd asked the lady to clip the thorns off the roses, but he had been too addled to think of it. Seems as if he's not going to get any less addled as the evening progresses.

He brought roses. Taako has to pause by the backroom door just to keep himself from tripping, his face cracking into a huge, goofy smile. 

“Hey, handsome,” he murmurs, padding up to Kravitz. He catches his free hand, tangling their fingers together, and smiles warmly up at him. “Did you get me flowers? You’re so sweet, holy shit.”

Kravitz's excuse dies in his throat and all he can do with his mouth is kiss Taako, with the sun shining right out of his face like that. He's warm, he's so warm and open and inviting, and Kravitz can't help but be purely, dangerously, magnetically attracted to him. 

"These? Yeah," he mumbles, lips already tingling. He'd worn lipstick, mostly because he thought it would go with his outfit and Taako would love making a mess of it, but he hopes that hasn't already been spoiled. And then he doesn't care, because he's here, with Taako, who loves him, who loves him already, who looks so surprised at the little gesture that Kravitz is glad he left disgustingly early and panicked in an alley. He's going to bring Taako every gift under the sun. He's going to lavish him in jewels and riches like a courtier would a prince. And he'll deserve them all.

Taako laughs delightedly, kissing him softly before he pulls back, giving his hand a little tug. 

“Come on up, let’s go sit in my comfy pillow nest and talk,” he says. Then, his voice going a little bit more teasing, a little bit less easy and sweet, “I’m looking forward to hearing what you came up with.”

That ruins the spell and makes Kravitz flush, but that's almost certainly what Taako was aiming for anyway, so Kravitz doesn't take more than a moment to be self-conscious about it. He can't believe Taako is already training him so effectively. Maybe he's just opening up. He follows Taako's insistent, adorable tug and up the stairs they go, to share in private company his deepest desires and tastes. 

"It's not much," he warns, "But I tried to....articulate some of the things I'm interested in? It was, you probably know this, it was really hard, to, to, to, to come up, with, how to phrase, some things, and I, I don't have that much experience with this sort of thing, but I, I really do want to try more, with you, and, and, you know, I trust you, so..." He trails off, but Kravitz figures Taako gets the idea.

“I’m proud of you for getting something down,” Taako says softly, squeezing his hand. “And I hope you managed to fill out that list pretty well, it’ll be good for me going forward, you feel? Parameters, or whatever.”

He waves the door to his room open, walking past the open box without even really glancing at the various toys and cuffs and such inside. 

“Come sit,” he says, gesturing to the bed. “And we can talk.”

It feels silly, but Taako's pride means a lot to Kravitz. Pleased, he follows Taako in and sits for him, or, with him, and. Looks around. 

Gods above, Taako really does have a, uh, collection. Not just a purveyor of such products. Kravitz shouldn't be surprised, but just looking at the chest makes him a little hot under the collar. He looks at Taako instead and, a bit delayed, hands him both the roses and the packet of papers he filled out. 

"I tried to be thorough but there were some on there that I wasn't sure about? Sorry, I guess I could have googled them..."

“You’re absolutely fine,” Taako says, accepting the papers and the flowers with a smile. He kisses Kravitz’s temple, a little awkwardly given the angle but sweet nonetheless. “Honestly, googling a lot of them is a...dark rabbit hole. I don’t use the internet much, but. Y’know.”

He hands off the roses to one of his tendrils, which tuck them into a mason jar of water in his kitchen. He can deal with them more closely later. “Now, I can do one of two things here; either go through this list now and work from there, or listen to your today thoughts and work from there. Second one’d be a little faster, but the first one covers more bases.”

"Right, right. I guess, yeah, I figured that. I mean, you, go ahead, you can glance at it, but I sort of. I sort of, made, I, made a thing, for. What I wanted, to say." Kravitz pulls out an already overly-folded, worn piece of paper and clears his throat. "But um, maybe, do you, what do you want. Do you want to...I don't know- talk about what we...have in common? Or..." He unfolds and refolds the paper again, then, hesitant, gives it to Taako rather than read it aloud. "You just pick, and we'll probably do both, anyway?"

Taako catches his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Let's go through the lists and compare, okay? Before I read this one, which I'm very excited about. Gonna really have fun with it." 

He grins at Kravitz, but it's a sweeter one than he'd give while domming, normally. Something in Kravitz brings out his gooey side, which is embarrassing, but who's gonna judge him, Kravitz "brought-flowers-to-a-fuck-date" lastname. Taako's not sure what his last name is, oops. He didn't think to ask--he never does, since he doesn't, strictly speaking, have one himself.

His eyes flicker over the list Kravitz handed him, and he smiles faintly at the emphatic 1000 next to kissing--on a scale of one to five, Taako feels more or less the same way. He's also deeply charmed by some of his little question marks and 'curious'-es. Sweet thing. Taako loves him.

As an afterthought, he fishes his own list out from where it's half-crumpled next to his bed and hands it to Kravitz, saying, "uh, if you wanna keep this, you can--mostly we have pretty close priorities, which is good. Obvi not identical, we're not pod people, but." He bumps their shoulders together. "We're gonna have fun, hey?"

Watching Taako analyze the list is almost physically painful. The whole time Kravitz is worried, for some reason, despite there being no precedent for it, that Taako will call him out for one or tell him it's wrong, that his rating is wrong or his interest is disgusting or he isn't perfect enough. It's just anxiety. But Kravitz is relieved beyond measure as he smiles, as he flushes, as he hands over a list that nearly matches Kravitz's and Kravitz feels like he did make the right choices, again despite there not being a right answer. He just wants to be right and good, and especially those things for Taako, and that, actually, says a lot about what he's doing here, but he's in too deep to go back now. 

When Taako breaks the silence, Kravitz gives him a big relieved smile and reciprocates like it's the easiest thing in the world. Taako just makes things easier. 

"Yeah," he says, still unsure at first, but fuck it, he trusts Taako and he's already had fun with Taako and the fact that he's doing this, insisting on spending time on making sure their expectations match and they're both safe and comfortable and interested, it says a lot about Taako, and about what Kravitz can expect from this relationship. Good things. Positive, warm, kind acts. Communication. Serious pleasure. Lots of kisses. His heart swells. 

"Taako, we're going to have such a good time together."

Taako turns slightly and cups Kravitz’ cheek, tugging him forward for a soft kiss, and then another, and another after that, warm and sweet and adoring. He’s for sure gonna be more controlling in a bit, but for a moment he just wants to hold and be held, wants the cool give of Kravitz’s lips against his own. 

“Okay, now run me through this one,” he murmurs, gesturing with the other paper in his hand. “Paint me a word picture, sweetheart.”

Kravitz returns every kiss with interest. His hands twist into his shirt, self conscious and full of anticipation. "It's already, sort of, well, it's more of a letter, really? Maybe you should just read it, and if it isn't clear, then, you can ask. I tried to make it, well, relevant, but I guess I got sort of caught up in how I felt and I didn't really want to go back and redraft it?" 

It reads:

Taako,

You make me feel like I never have before. You make me feel so safe, and yet you also breathe life into something wild and desperate, something I’ve never given a name to for fear it would wake up. But Taako, you understand it. You understand me in a way I didn’t think anyone could, especially in such a short time. I think what we have is something truly amazing. I can’t wait to feed those flames even more. 

I want you to know what I want. Usually I’m an articulate man, Taako, but you turn me into a stuttering mess. You should feel accomplished, and at least, I hope, a microbe guilty. Part of the problem is that I don’t really know what I want--so much of this is new to me and I have only a little experience with it. What research I have done is biased by the sources to say the least. Your brand of wish fulfillment is completely unique, which is a blessing and a curse. Nothing else is remotely close to it. 

Here’s what I don’t want: I don’t want to be mistreated or humiliated. I don’t particularly care for being hit or spanked or punished. I want to be good for you, Taako, I ache to please you. I desperately want to be praised, to be rewarded for being good, especially for being good for you and you alone. I want you to challenge me. I want you to take control and make me feel that safety, but also make me feel all of those things I’ve been missing out on for simple lack of exposure and confidence. We ought to make up for lost time. 

Your magic excites me beyond my control. Your tentacles make me hot under the collar; the glimpses I’ve stolen of the full breadth of your arcane power have left me breathless. I want you to use that power and those assets and make me yours, mark me and keep me and play with me until all I know is you. I want to be yours. I want you to want me to be yours. You don’t have to treat me gently as long as you treat me well; I’ll more than repay you for your gifts. 

Yours, absolutely yours,

Kravitz

Taako's eyes flick over the page, trying to process the words and the medium--stationary?? Fucking stationary??? What a dork--at the same time. As he reads, his ears go a dark red, a smile playing at his lips. He's so cute. He's so sweet. Taako is gonna make him forget his own damn name.

He sets the letter down beside him gently, then turns to Kravitz, eyes big and dark. 

"You're so cute," he murmurs. "Krav, you're so good. C'mere."

He tugs him forward into another kiss, undoing the top buttons of his shirt as he does.

"Yeah?" At ‘good’, Kravitz melts. All of his anxiety flies out the window to haunt another poor bastard for a few hours. Taako liked his letter. Taako likes him. Taako's going to take control. 

He kisses hungrily, desperately, so full of relief he's a little lightheaded. Taako's so pretty, with his big dark pupils and that incredulous, affectionate, carnivorous look on his face. Kravitz would do anything for him.

“Yeah,” Taako repeats between kisses, pushing Kravitz’s shirt off his shoulders. “My good boy. Sweet, precious thing, you make me want to ruin you, you know that?”

He leans back a little, catching Kravitz’s chin in his hand. “Really just...take you apart, hear that pretty voice of yours break. There’s so many ways to do it, to--it’s just so...”

Taako pauses, glancing away in a theatrical moment of contemplation even as a twitch of his free hand has the tendrils of his bed winding around Kravitz’ arms. 

“...Exciting,” he finishes, dropping one more kiss to his lips before standing to stretch. He’ll go grab some stuff from his box in a second, but for the moment he just enjoys looking at his adorable, perfect boyfriend. He loves him.

"Yes-- I want you to, I want you-" Kravitz is breathless and delighted in an instant, swept away by Taako's dorky theatrics and hot-blooded enthusiasm. When the tendrils find him, he inhales, fingers moving anxiously but in no way resisting. This. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Kravitz smiles like a fool, heartsick and enamoured and a little bit on fire. 

Taako adores him. It's as unmistakable as it is surprising and reciprocated. Taako is going to take care of him. Taako is going to wreck the shit out of him and Kravitz is going to say thank you.

The tendrils around his wrists yank up and back, pulling him supine with his wrists above his head. It’s not a painful fall, given the soft, cozy material of Taako’s nest, but it is a forceful one, a dozen grasping tentacles arranging Kravitz where Taako wants him. They also take the opportunity to carefully liberate Kravitz from his jeans and boots, leaving him bare save for his underwear. Taako grins at him, eyes appraising, then turns to rifle through his box of bondage stuff with a hum. 

Kravitz makes an embarrassing sound in surprise as he's yanked, but the soft landing reinforces what he already knows: trust Taako, he has this all under control. Kravitz is safe. He's safe and Taako is going to take care of him and then some.The tendrils removing Kravitz’s clothes is an unusual sensation and he feels incredibly exposed all at once, but that's the point. That's the big idea. They're so gentle and yet so determined. 

“Mm, what to do to you,” Taako muses. “I’m thinking I’ll have some tentacles fuck you, for sure, but I haven’t really planned a ton past that. You wrote that you don’t know much about shibari, I could show you--pff--show you the ropes there?”

And Taako's casual tone! It sends electricity down Kravitz’s spine how confidently Taako takes this on, when it took Kravitz three sweaty hours and a cold shower to write a dumb letter. 

He laughs, judging from the tone that it's a stupid pun, fuck he loves Taako, and tries to sound like he's not already Very Interested in what's going to go down. TENTACLES!! He's weak.

"I'm guessing that's where you tie me up? I wouldn't say no to that. I wouldn't say no to that face if you asked me to do the chicken dance."

Taako snorts. “Table that one for another time, right now is for fancy japanese rope bondage.”

He pulls a glittering gold rope out of his box, letting it slither through his hands like liquid. 

“All I need you to do is relax, the bed’ll lift you when I need you lifted,” he purrs, tugging Kravitz up into the air a bit so he has better access to start tying knots. “God, I was so right, this rope looks gorgeous against your skin.”

"Fancy Japanese rope bondage." Wow. Kravitz rolls it over his tongue. "You want me to be fancy? Oh, oh, I get it. You're going to wrap me up like a present." 

He watches the rope carefully. As pretty as it is, it could have magical qualities and gods know what could possibly go on there. But Taako's hands are so clever and accurate, and Kravitz just smiles like a goober at the compliment. Taako's going to drive him wild and he's going to be better for it. 

"How fancy is fancy?"

"Not...that fancy," Taako says, gently winding the rope around his back. His hands are steady and practiced as he ties a harness around Kravitz’s beautiful chest, mostly just for show; he goes the extra time-consuming mile and makes a little rose out of friction ties in the center, just because it's cute, and Kravitz is cute, and Taako likes looking at him; he keeps pausing to smooch his face, because frankly Kravitz is just too lovable and it's illegal and the only fitting punishment is more kisses. 

"I'm just gonna do a harness around your chest and shoulders for now, to show you sorta how this stuff works," Taako explains as he's doing it, "I can also tie your wrists into this, if you want, but there's no real need to. A lot of this is just decorative, considerin' I've got, you know-" he wiggles his fingers, and the tentacles surrounding them sway cheerfully. "-Moving restraints I can control with my brain. But if you wanna try having your hands cuffed all pretty with rope, you know ch'boy is amenable to that."

"Looks pretty fancy to me," Kravitz says, so completely impressed and in love and aching from being patient. But it'll be worth it. Taako likes how he looks. If he were braver, he'd have Taako take a picture, but he'd probably end up wanting to burn it once he came back to his senses. Oh well. It's a private show for Taako. 

"Whatever you like." He watches Taako's careful weaving, glorious fingers. He's actually rather comfortable. "What do you think looks better?"

"Hmmmm," Taako says, then shakes his head. "Not tonight. I wanna have some maneuverability, you feel? Gotta have access to all this hot bod."

He runs his hands across Kravitz's shoulders, appreciating the shape of him, the softness to his skin. He'll never get over how lovely this man is, never stop wanting to press kisses to every inch of him.

Taako pushes him back down again, gentler this time, laying him on his back with his arms above his head once more. Casually, easily, he straddles his waist, tail curling around his leg. His hair falls down in a curtain over one shoulder, brushing against Kravitz's chest where it ends, and Taako has to take a moment to really soak in this view: the handsomest man on earth lying breathless and joyful beneath him, knots of gold decorating his chest. 

"I love you," Taako murmurs. It's a trip that he means it.

"I love you too..." It's almost a prayer, and Kravitz wonders how far he'll go if he's already at that point. But he also doesn't care a bit. He'd get right down on his knees and worship Taako if he weren't already occupied. Taako can work on that as they go. "I love you, I really do." A dam has broken and now it's all going to rush out, gushing hearts and gooey sentiment. He's spoken it and now it's true. Kravitz loves Taako. 

It's hard to really react, strung up like this, but he arches his back to try and kiss Taako, desperate for a little connection. He's beautiful. He's perfect. He's splendiferous and then some. "Let me-"

How could he say no? He’d have to be a monster to refuse him a kiss, when he asks so soft and sweet. Taako leans forward and catches his lips, kissing him deep and hot and adoring. 

“Good boy,” he breathes, just a puff of air against his lips. Pulling back by inches; “Good, sweet thing. Do you want me to fuck you? Because I do. I wanna open you up on my tentacles until you’re writhing, an’ then fuck you hard, just like this, so I can kiss you while I do.”

"Oh, gods, Taako," Kravitz is melting. He can't do this. If Taako keeps talking at him like that he's going to be a puddle of person. "Yes. please, yes- I want to be good for you-" 

He tries to kiss Taako again, again and again, a treasure only for him. He pulls a bit against the restraints, he wants to get closer, but he's held fast and tight and that, too, adds to the growing heat he soon won't be able to think through. 

"Anything, please..."

Taako nuzzles at his neck, sweet and easy, at the same time reaching back with one of the tentacles actually fused to his body to gently squeeze Kravitz's cock through his briefs, a little stutter of a purr falling from him without thinking.

"So precious," he mumbles, mostly to himself. He tugs Kravitz's shorts off after a moment, because he's impatient, and it's fine, and the best thing about having control of a fuckton of limbs is that he can kiss his boyfriend and strip him at the same time. The thin, slick end of one tendril teases at Kravitz's entrance as Taako pulls back enough to murmur, "You good?"

"Fuck, yes, Taako, I'm so good? Please- Go ahead-" Taako's so beautiful. All of those limbs are a miracle of arcana and science and hard work and style and some of them are?? Even attached to Taako? That's dedication. He probably never got a permit for permanent body modifications with magic, but honestly Kravitz is willing to completely forget about it if Taako is going to keep doing things like this with them. What can he say? He's corruptible. 

"You're amazing, you know that? You're so beautiful. You're- those- you look so good with those-"

Taako kisses him, pressing into him at the same time. He sets a slow, easy pace, the tentacle itself starting to grow in increments. 

“Beautiful? Amazing? Talking to yourself in bed is a weird habit, Krav,” he says, kissing his face with a grin. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re the amazing, beautiful one here.”

Kravitz moans, spreading his legs to give Taako better access and a real show. "Taako- Taako, fuck-" He isn't pulling any punches. If this is where they're starting, Kravitz is in serious trouble. Is he just going to sit there and watch?? That's almost disappointing and spicier in one. 

"More- G-" He can, he can still talk. He's a clever and talented and skilled person and not a fucktoy for Taako's afternoon entertainment. For now. "I can take more, and, faster, you're...come on..."

“Oh, confident boy,” Taako teases, kissing the corner of his mouth. He rolls off of Kravitz’s chest, shifting down into the nest a bit so that he can lie between his legs, casual as anything. He takes Kravitz’s cock loosely in one hand, pressing a kiss to the head exactly as soft and light as the ones he’d been dropping against his face. As he mouths against his shaft, another tentacle winds around the one pumping into Kravitz, fucking him with a rougher corkscrew motion. More, faster, he said, so that’s what Taako gives him. Not enough to get off, certainly, but....more.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, Taako, you're going to kill me and I- I'm going to thank you for- for the honor-" Kravitz's legs try to squeeze closed at the sensation but they can't and he's left to enjoy being helpless as Taako works him apart on every level, softly, sweetly, faster. 

"You're perfect, you're- fuck- fucking- shit, Taako, gods-"

Taako flicks his gaze up towards him, catching Kravitz’s eye with his own pupils blown so wide the yellow of his irises is practically gone. 

He spends another long moment laving attention on Kravitz’s cock, his tail flicking behind him, before he crawls upwards again to kiss him hard, the tendrils that make up his own dick teasing at Kravitz’s entrance as the ones that had been fucking him slip away. 

“You ready?” Taako murmurs, a soft smile on his lips.

That feral, carnivorous look in Taako's eyes turns Kravitz’s blood to lava and his bones to chocolate pudding and he is?? In love? He would die for Taako. He feels like he might, actually. Kravitz kisses him desperately, more so as the tendrils slip away like they had never been there, leaving Kravitz feeling hollow to the core. His lips tingle when the cool air hits them again.

"Yes, yes, please, Taako- Taako, I need you-"

Taako lets his tendrils shape into something approximating a cock, teasing at Kravitz’ entrance for a moment longer just to relish in his hunger, his every desperate plea and cry the sweetest music to his ears. 

And then, because Taako may be a monster but he’s also not evil, he rolls his hips forward, pressing into Kravitz in an easy, slow motion that has his tendrils corkscrewing inside him. He feels so good, and Taako is so, so in love. It’s a shame he can’t suck him off and fuck him at the same time, but ah well. Sacrifices must be made. 

“Look at you,” he rasps, propping himself up on one arm so he can cup Kravitz’s cheek. “Perfect. My sweet, perfect Kravitz, done up all pretty and falling apart for me. Some time I’m gonna see how long you can go, how much I can work you up before you can’t take it... but for now, you’ve been so good. Tell me what you want, darling.”

Kravitz moans, unable to handle perfect, sweet, pretty, good... So good. Taako has pinged on all of his deepest weaknesses and Kravitz handed them over like a fool...not that Taako hadn't already caught on to the dopey way he melted with a little compliment. It's an absolute barrage, between his words and his tendrils, his big beautiful, hungry eyes. Kravitz moans with reckless abandon, no longer a bit concerned about how lewd and desperate he sounds and more concerned about making sure that sensation keeps growing. 

Wait, that was a request. A. An order. Toooooooo. Tell him. 

"More," he manages, incredibly articulate and elaborate.

Gods. Taako could drink the noises he’s making, wants to cling to this moment forever—he leans in to kiss him again, and again, because he can’t not, can’t find it in himself to articulate anything but love and love and love.

He’s more or less forgotten English at this point, reduced to gasping fragments of words in his first language against Kravitz’s lips.

Every kiss burns with ooey gooey cheesy affection, new love lighting flames wherever it touches. 

"Taako- Taako-" It's a song. It's a prayer. Kravitz is all swept up in the feeling, in being, in belonging, in loving, in getting his brains fucked out by a ...Taako. It simply registers to Kravitz that that doesn't sound like elvish, but he's too feel good to care. 

"Taako- Taako you- Yes- please- yes-!" 

Taako kisses him again with a stuttering fragment of a purr, pulling him as close as he can without doing some weird shit on a cellular level. "Love," he murmurs, far removed from English, "Mine, love, mate."

He pumps Kravitz's dick with one tentacle, managing to clear his head enough to order-ask-beg, "C-come for me? I wanna-wanna feel you."

Kravitz can't tell what sweet things Taako is sinking into his skin, but the weight behind them feels so, so good. Taako's purr is so good. Kravitz feels amazing. Taako- Taako is so good to him- Taako is- He's so- 

Kravitz can't come to the words right now, but Taako is still coherent and perfect and right and in charge and he's got Kravitz covered. It's all Kravitz can do to obey, to please, to aim to impress. He comes in an instant, the pressure from the tentacle incredible, and everything in the world shrinks to good, good, good, good, good...

Kravitz loves Taako. If maybe that wasn't clear. He'd like to carve it in the moon, which he's going to visit if this sort of thing keeps happening.

Taako comes moments later, kissing Kravitz adoringly as he does. He’s so good, so real and alive and wonderful, and Taako wants to wrap him up and hide him away, keep him forever somewhere safe and secret where all the awful shit this world has to offer can’t ever ever find him. 

He ignores that urge, and instead just peppers his face with kiss after goofy, affectionate kiss; nothing is safe, not his forehead or his excellent cheeks or his nose, Taako will smooch it all.

“You’re so good,” he says, laughter laced in his voice. “So, so good. How do you feel?”

As he asks, the tentacles holding Kravitz recede, letting him move as much as he wants. Well, sort of, Taako is still mostly lying on top of him, but. Whatever.

"Very so good?" Kravitz smiles through the kisses and reciprocates as many as he can. The second he gets his arms back, they're wrapped around Taako, pulling him closer, which should be impossible, because they live here now, fastened together with love and maybe a little of the stickiness that comes with it. He tucks his head into Taako's shoulder and smiles to himself, so satisfied and belonging. 

"You're so good, you, good doer, you." Language is clawing its way back up Kravitz's throat, as preoccupied as he wants to be. It's a slow process and he hopes it'll again be interrupted, although maybe not immediately. "Very very good boyfriend."

Taako laughs into his hair, snuggling close. After a moment of consideration he rolls a little to the side, just so he isn’t Actively On Top Of Him, and winds his tail and several tendrils around him loosely. It’s nowhere near enough to restrain, just...a hug, but bigger. 

“You’re the very very good boyfriend,” he says. It’s a biting retort. An absolute blow. He loves him so much.

Kravitz couldn't wipe his goofy grin off his face with an ultra-deluxe space laser. He's so head over heels he can barely breathe without choking on tiny cartoon hearts. And the praise, he's always been especially weak to praise, but it's been sparing. Taako dumps it on him like his preferred serving of hot fudge is in ladles. 

"I know you are, but what am I?" He giggles, straight up giggles, like some kind of goofy child.

Oh no, Kravitz got him. What a comeback. Those giggles are too cute, and Taako’s brain stalls for a second trying to process exactly how gay he is, which is to say: A Lot. 

“Hmm, let’s see, what are you,” Taako says, after a beat of Homosexual Silence. “You’re handsome, and charming, and sweet and good and lovely, and I am going to kiss you forever and nobody can stop me.”

To drive his very serious point home, he kisses Kravitz’s temple.

"Nooooo!!" Kravitz laughs until his eyes water, which is something he hasn't done in quite some time. "You're going to kill me! Compliments are my weakness!!!" 

Desperate to retaliate, he kisses Taako's nose and rests his head on the pillows, smiling goofily.

Taako settles down a little, smiling just as soft and silly back at him. He’s so sweet. 

“You want something to drink? Also, you look absolutely bangin’ in that harness, but if you wanna take it off lemme know.”

Kravitz laughs. 

"I like it. Maybe not yet, but don't let me forget, alright?" He mushes his face comfortably into Taako and enjoys the closeness for a minute. 

"Mmmmmmmmmmm. And yeah, but don't get up. I need you."

Taako huffs softly, gently dragging his fingers through the mess he’s made of Kravitz’s hair. 

“I’m trapped,” he drawls. “I can’t escape. Oh nooo.”

A tendril places a cup of water with a straw on the floor next to the bed a few moments later, because Taako is great at magic and also at pampering, thank you so very much.

"Ohhh, fuck, you're perfect." Kravitz moves away just enough to get a sip of water without soaking himself and then returns to suffocating Taako in his embrace. 

"Mm...that was fun."

“What, drinking water?” Taako jokes, snuggling close. “Generally seen as a rewarding activity, historically speaking, I guess, although fun is a strong word—“

He cracks on strong, breaking into giggles that he muffles against Kravitz’s shoulder.

Kravitz laughs too, a pure, warm, pleasant light in his chest. Taako just...makes him happy. It's impossible. It's beautiful. It's destiny.

He's sappy. Brain full of endorphins and arms full of Taako, he laughs and enjoys himself and cuddles, something he never would have predicted a bit less than a month ago.

Taako pats his calf with the tuft of his tail, his purr low but undeniably present and warm. "You want a nap, cutie? I can wake you up when I think it's a good time to warm somethin' up for dinner, if you like."

"D'you mind?" It's not nearly as strong as the dragon, but Kravitz is having a tough time remembering where all his bones belong. "I'd hate to be a boring guest, out after one good run..." Even so, he snuggles closer to Taako. What a good and lovely and safe place to sleep.

“Nah, you’re perfect,” Taako assures him. “Catch some zees, babe, I’ll take the train with you to snoozeville for a little bit.”

"Sounds great." And Kravitz smiles, a soft, intimate, rare smile with heart eyes. 

That's all it takes for Kravitz to curl up against Taako and close his eyes. Usually it would take him ages to sleep, especially with enough to overanalyze and worry over as a day like this. But Taako, as much as he tires Kravitz out, also makes him feel safe and calm, and in no time at all, Kravitz is dozing and draped right over as much Taako as he could reach.

Taako does doze, for a little bit at least, but he is still an elf; particularly considering how soundly and how long he was out the night before, he’s not really shocked that he’s still largely conscious. 

Besides, it’s nice to be able to just....hold him, and be held, and, despite the slight creepiness of it, Taako relishes the chance to just fucking stare at him. Kravitz’s face is so beautiful, is the thing, and there’s something strong and strange and wild that rises in Taako as he looks at him, at the peaceful stillness of his face, the way his eyelids occasionally twitch with dreaming. He wants to reach out and in, wants to seep into his dreams and his mind in a way he hasn’t thought of for centuries. 

He doesn’t, just holds him close and purrs drowsily. He’ll nudge him awake for burritos or something at eight.

Kravitz dreams peacefully, unaware, and wakes up when Taako nudges him. He's so warm, even though he doesn't usually sleep naked, and the embrace of Taako's nest is so comforting he almost goes back to sleep. He presses his face against Taako and hums, not even bothering to words, and hopes Taako gets the sentiment.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Taako laughs, voice quiet. He strokes Kravitz’s head, purring real soft, and asks, “You hungry?” 

"Could eat," Kravitz mumbles, too comfortable to think very carefully. Taako is so pretty. Taako loves him. It's so easy to tell, too, when he purrs. It's like the vibrations synch with the beating of his heart. 

Gods above, Kravitz is gay.

“You’re so cute,” Taako says, kissing his nose. “Uh, we did forget to take off that harness, so you should probably sit up and lemme do that before we figure out what we want for dinner.”

He makes no effort to move. Kravitz is comfy.

"Yeah," Kravitz sighs, not moving either. He's going to be stiff later, but worth it. 

It takes him a good long few minutes of just soaking in the warmth of his boyfriend before he sits up properly, hair absolutely disheveled and marks pressed into his skin. He blinks sleepily and shifts off of Taako, reminding himself that a shower wouldn't hurt either.

Taako has to expend a great deal of self-control not to whine petulantly when Kravitz moves, sitting up himself and shaking out his hair instead. 

He’s a mess. Kravitz is by all accounts the more visibly wrecked of the two of them, but Taako didn’t escape unscathed either.

“Here, lemme, uh,” he says, gesturing at the knotwork on Kravitz’s chest. “Lemme untie that for you, and then I can whip something quick up. If you want, feel free to take a shower while I’m cooking, or if you’d rather we can take a bath together after.”

"Yes please. Free me." Kravitz laughs and gives Taako a big goofy grin. 

"As much nice as- As nice as that sounds, I think a shower would be real nice." Kravitz rubs at where the ropes dug into him as he laid on them. The pattern, for what it's worth, is still beautiful.

Taako presses a soft kiss to the rope-marks, then nods."I hope those aren't uncomfortable, but I gotta be real here, you look real nice with 'em. You look really nice all the time, though. Top-tier hotboy."

Kravitz just smiles at him. 

"Thank you." 

Gods, he's perfect. He's so gorgeous and lovely, down to the littlest things... And be can cook like a champion.

After one more sleepy hug/face-kiss combo, Taako rolls out of bed, raising his arms above his head and stretching out all the way from his hands to the tip of his tail, rocking on the balls of his feet for a moment. "You got anything you want for dinner?"

"Um, anything is good. You're an amazing cook. Anything you make will be better than what's in my freezer, babe."

Burritos it is then. Taako’s got some tortillas left over from a batch Lup made a few days back, and there’s probably some beans and shredded beef in the fridge. He can throw that together while Kravitz is in the shower. 

“You got any preferred burrito flavors?”

"Um....food flavor? I'm. Just woke up." Kravitz rubs at his eyes, as if to punctuate his point. The shower will help him come to just as much as it will get him unsticky. 

"Also, I know......basically none about food making."

He’s so dumb. Taako would kill for him. 

“I’ll put you down for beans and shredded beef, then, I guess,” he laughs. “That’s what I’m having, anyway. Go wake yourself up, babe.”

He snags a loose pullover dress off the floor by the closet and yanks it over his head, his ears flicking wildly once he’s pulled it past them.

Kravitz laughs and stumbles towards the bathroom, legs completely asleep and still a little mismatched after the fun they had. 

"Sounss perfect. Delicious. You're amazing." 

The bathroom isn't hard to find and the hot, hot water helps his brain and a majority of his limbs remember their jobs. The more cleans himself off, the more he hopes Taako will put him through the wringer again. He's so, so good. 

Kravitz dresses in his comfy spare outfit and heads to the kitchen.

Taako’s ears perk up at the sound of Kravitz entering the room, and he turns away from the stove just enough to grin at him. 

“Clean boy,” he says, laden with affection. “Siddown, food’s almost done. What do you want to drink?”

Kravitz smells good. Whatever fancy soap Taako has, he likes it. It makes him feel desirable and fresh. 

"I can't believe you actually cooked for me. You're so good, you know that, right?" Kravitz sits and stretches out his legs, better but still stiff. "Mm....what do you have? I'm open. Apple juice, wine, Dr. Pepper. Whatever."

Taako hums, sliding the second of the burritos he’d been making on to a plate and grabbing a bottle of juice from his fridge. Cranberry lemonade. It’s his favorite, even though it’s weirdly hard to find, and he’s feeling floaty and cozy enough to just grab His Favorite instead of thinking about flavor combinations and whatnot. 

He hands Kravitz his burrito with a yawn. “How was your shower, babe? I hope my bathroom didn’t accost you.”

"Oh no, it was fine. It was really nice, actually." Kravitz kisses him on the cheek before digging into his burrito, heart full of domestic gratitude. He wishes he had any skills to offer Taako in that department. Well. He's not bad at cleaning. Maybe he can do the dishes. 

"You seem in a good mood."

“I am in a good mood, there’s a handsome man in my house and I love him and I got to spend my evening spoiling him, who wouldn’t be in a good mood?” Taako grins at him, hooking their ankles together under the table.

"Well, if it makes you so happy, I'll let you spoil me some more." Kravitz grins at him, finishing his burrito like he's inhaled it. Very sexy. He feels like he's run a marathon. He props his chin up and just smiles at Taako, happy to be here. Happy to be part of something. Happy to be loved.

Taako laughs, the sound ringing out like a particularly besotted bell. “I’m holding you to that, you know,” he says, “You’re gonna get so spoiled. I’m gonna drown you with presents and shit.”

"Uh oh. You'll kill me like an overwatered cactus if you're too good to me. I'm not used to being spoiled." 

Kravitz wonders how soon is too soon to introduce Taako to his moms. Maybe usually he wouldn't bother, would actively resist, but..... Taako would probably get along with them.

"Impossible, I can't be too good to you, you deserve all the good things," Taako insists. He's gonna bury him in affection while he has the chance. "You're the prettiest flower and I haaaaave to give you lots of water."

"You're killing me!!!!!!! You're killing your boyfriend!!" Kravitz leans over the table and smooches Taako one good, heart pounding with affection and denial and excitement. He can't fucking believe Taako is calling him the prettiest flower and he's falling for it. 

"Then I'm going to spoil you right back!! Tell me all your deepest desires!"

Kravitz tastes like beans and adoration, and Taako is about five seconds from asking him to just move in with him, the fact that they've been on one (1) real date be damned.

"My deepest desires, huh? I'll have to think about that for a bit."

"Keep me posted." Kravitz finds that he honestly, legitimately can't wait to find out. Fuck, he's head over heels. He hopes Taako doesn't think he's moving too fast. Sure, they both confessed, but Kravitz is seeing hearts and little birdies, and maybe Taako just isn't at the Toon Town stage yet, you know? 

"Did you get me a drink, or am I gonna have to swipe an indirect kiss from your cute lemonade?"

“Oh, shit,” Taako says, grabbing another glass with a stray tendril and filling it, also with lemonade. He slides it across the table with a sheepish tilt to his ears. “Sorry, babe, your face is too cute and distracting. Here, you can get a direct kiss anytime anyway.”

Kravitz laughs and takes a much needed drink, but he follows it up with a kiss. No harm done. 

"You're fine. I didn't really expect to inhale that. I promise I tasted it." He takes another sip. Tart. Good, but tart. He licks his lips. 

"What did you wanna do next?"

Taako blinks, leaning back in his chair. “I dunno, I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess it depends on your schedule—if you have work tomorrow I can drop you near your place, if not...” 

He shrugs. “We can play it by ear.”

"Oh, fuck, work." Kravitz's tone is downright mournful. He can't believe he forgot. "I should, oh. Boy. Damn." 

He rubs his neck. 

"I want to stay, though, I mean- I wish I could stay, but." He sighs. "I'm so sorry."

“Babe, you’re fine,” Taako says, taking his hand. “I’m not gonna ask you to stop having a life and spend every waking moment with me. I just have to be the center of attention when I am hanging out with you.” 

He’s clearly joking, a crooked grin painting his face, and he leans across the table to give him another smooch.

"Yeah, but I want to," Kravitz pouts. "That sounds excellent." Okay, again maybe coming on too strong. Good opportunity to dial things back a little. But Kravitz isn't built for that, and he catches Taako's hands in his own. "We should have another date. Soon. I'll text you my next day off but we could always, I mean, some nights I work late, but you could be my excuse to not to! I don't know, I just want to be with you more! When- We could test your next product! Anything!"

If he sounds incredibly lonely and attention starved, it's because he is.

Taako's heart shatters a little. He's so attention-starved, and part of Taako wants to give him so much attention, constantly, forever. He raises up Kravitz' hands to kiss his knuckles, using the motion as a way to keep from just straight-up inviting him to live together, then manages to say, "Soon indeed. Text me for sure, and also just if you want to chat, okay? I always have time in my heart for you."

"Yeah, yeah. Yeah, of course." Kravitz's ears get hot as he realizes how fucking pitiful and desperate that sounded. He needs to socialize more. What a mess he is. 

"I'm gonna go grab my bag, and then I'll come kiss you goodbye." He stands and.....delays, for a moment, and then starts walking for Taako's room. He isn't sure what he expected, what he wants so bad. Maybe more mutual head petting and a bad movie and a bottle of wine... Maybe sleeping in a heap in Taako's nest, maybe nothing. He doesn't know. This is uncharted territory. He's always fallen fast, but it's never felt so mutual. His heart aches. He hates that he has to get up at a reasonable time in the morning and not blow his boyfriend.

Taako watches him, wavering on the knife's edge between feeling sad and doing something stupid. One more longing look and Taako will accidentally blurt out just come live here, it'll cut down on the commute anyway, and he's sure that would be too much too fast even for someone as touch-starved as Kravitz.

The second Kravitz is out of sight, he rubs his face, just embarrassed at how soft Taako makes him. He's so. Much. Kravitz can't handle his muchness. Taako is a tidal wave that wipes out his ability to think, and Kravitz is standing on the beach with his arms wide open. He grabs his bag and double checks he gets all of his things, including the sexy boots he wore the night before that don't exactly fit in the space his purple tennis shoes left in his backpack. As nice as it would be to have an excuse to come back, that seems particularly low for him. Gosh, I left a sock, so I left work early to launch myself into your arms and beg you to rail me. 

Kravitz is so fucking ruined. 

He walks back with his backpack over one shoulder, steeling himself to just walk away and be a grownup and not beg to stay with the first person to pay attention to him lately.

When he comes back out, Taako notices three things about him; he is forlorn, he is trying to hide it, and he is terrible at hiding it. 

Gods damn it. 

“Uh, hey,” he says, then his brain catches up and stalls his mouth.

"Yeah?" Kravitz is even more embarrassed at how hopeful he sounds than by the fact that Taako's probably noticed his Charlie Brown routine. It's his stupid work. It's not Taako's fault that Kravitz a job, and both of them are grownups that understand commerce and rent payments and leaving a person's house that doesn't belong to you. He shouldn't be so pitiful. It's childish. It's embarrassing. He wants to curl up in Taako's bed and not budge. Fuck, he's had one date and a few trysts with Taako and he's hooked. How is he going to get past this?

“Do you, uh,” Taako says, too swayed by Big Sad Boyfriend Eyes™ to show even a modicum of the practicality he thought he had cultivated over the years. “I mean, no, um, no pressure or anything but like—if you wanted to. Uh. Bring...some of your stuff here. So you could stay more often. Um. You don’t...have to leave, I mean, like—if. If you wanted. You can be here as much as you want.”

Fucking nailed it. Perfect and coherent adult communication.

That takes Kravitz a second to process, and then he lights up like a Candlenights bush. He can't believe how fucking transparent he is, but Taako is definitely handing him the Next Big Step and he is going to fucking take it. That's like bringing his own toothbrush, but bigger, right? Sure, it'll have to be next time, but he's still elated to have confirmation that there's going to be a next time at all, and this is more than he could have hoped for, especially so soon. 

"I'd- yes- I'd love to!"

Taako smiles, rocking up onto the balls of his feet to press a kiss to Kravitz’ cheek, his tail swishing happily behind him. 

“Great,” he says, grinning. “Cool. You can—you can come by whenever you want. I can, um, I’ll make you a charm that’ll help the door find you if you need it, it’ll be like a key, I guess.”

"A key!" Kravitz kisses Taako full on the mouth, but, hesitating in reverse order, draws back a little. "Oh, Taako, I hope I didn't pressure you into this. You don't have to feel like- I don't know, you don't have to open your house to me if you aren't ready. I move sort of fast sometimes and that just isn't fair if you're not feeling it too." 

He fidgets with the hem of his sleeve, a little anxious he's gone and fucked up and pushed Taako into something he isn't ready for, even if the idea of a key charm is just plain thrilling to him.

Taako snorts, bumping his face affectionately against Kravitz’s chest. 

“Trust me, I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it,” he says, then kisses him again. “Turns out I also move pretty fast. Who’d have thought.”

Kravitz smiles, relieved and now allowed to be over the moon about this next step. He still has to go home, still has to go to work in the morning, but he’ll have a key to Taako's home and he's allowed to bring some of his things over and Taako wants him to be there more often. 

He hugs Taako and kisses him goodnight, promises to text, promises to come back soon, thanks him for dinner, and heads down the stairs.

Taako watches him go with a soft, enamored sigh and a gentle nudge to his door to drop him near his building. No point making him spend money on a rideshare when Taako has a perfectly good monster portal right there, after all. 

And then he continues to stand there for several minutes, during which time he completely forgets to blink and only inhales about twice. 

And then he drops into a chair, shoves his face in the nearest monster(a fairly chonky tentacle, good as a pillow, really), and shrieks. It’s a haunting sound, not human, stretching the limits of elven vocal chords even, and it goes on far longer than it should without drawing breath, but when he sits up again he looks calmer. Okay. Take stock. 

Taako is:  
-Gay.  
-A dumbass.  
-Apparently going to make his boyfriend he’s been on one date with a key to his home.  
-Surprisingly okay with that. 

He flops back in his chair, waving his hand vaguely to send Lup a talk tomorrow? message. She’ll chew him out, but that’s fine. He’s in love, he probably deserves it.

Kravitz goes to bed early, but it's late before he finally drops off to sleep. He can't help over-processing every single thing that went on, every movement, every word...every sensation. He even gets up and makes use of his purchase from Taako's legitimate small business in the middle of the goddamn night, probably to the chagrin of future Kravitz who will do lots of sitting in chairs tomorrow, and the worst part is that despite enjoying himself very much, being horny isn't the problem. He's well and seriously fucked, because he is in capital L-O-V-E love. LOVE. FUCK! 

Can he call in lovesick to work? Can he tell his boss that he can't focus on paperwork because he's going to get a key to his boyfriend's house? Can he gush about his ridiculous date and ooey gooey feelings and soul-baring letter and absolute reciprocity and incredible evening? NO!! He's going to keep his idiot mouth shut, but. Oh, how he wants to gush about Taako to any sentient being he can get his hands on. He wants to fucking write him a song. A SONG! That's puppy love shit! He can't handle this! He wants to remember how he handled it the last time, but he's never been this in love before, and that's (almost) a sobering realization. Taako is special. What they have is special. What they could have..... Imagine how things could go after a second date, and a third, and then throw in testing his products! Taako watched him get railed by a slime dragon with a mostly straight face! Taako fucking made that! Taako is incredible, and powerful, and beautiful, and his laugh is dorky, and he texts like an old person, and he doesn't even have a website, and Kravitz is legitimately head over heels for him.

**Author's Note:**

> leave us your feelings, reactions, favorite lines, blood sacrifices, and desperate noises in the comments!! we eat them for power and they keep us making wet n wild shit like this!!! 
> 
> find Larissa on twitter at ceilingfan_5 and Ailem at @HoneyCorvid! (or @HornySweetCorva for nsfw)
> 
> please let us know if anything needs to be added to the tags!!


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